


Linktober2020 Prompts

by DrabbleDragon



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: Expect lots of angst and hurt/comfort in the middle of the month because that's what I'm planning, Gen, I always end up writing more than I intend but so is the weakness of a writer, I just wanna write cool one - shots with the prompts, I'm new to ao3 but I will try my best, It is way past Linktober but that will not stop me from writing all these prompts, Linked Universe (Legend of Zelda), Linktober2020, Prompt challenges are fun so let's see how this goes, There will probably be a change in Archive warnings later, hurt/comfort is my element
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-01
Updated: 2020-12-31
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:47:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 31,919
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26749021
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DrabbleDragon/pseuds/DrabbleDragon
Summary: A whole month of October prompts centered around each one of the Links. Prompts are supplied by the LinkedUniverse Discord so huge thanks to them!
Relationships: Malon (Legend of Zelda)/Time (Linked Universe)
Comments: 13
Kudos: 117





	1. Pumpkin

**Author's Note:**

> Summary: On the way to Malon’s house, one of the Links could have sworn they saw a familiar enemy.
> 
> Warnings: None

It was a blessing that Hylia had shifted the Links close to Lon Lon Ranch this time; it had allowed them the perfect opportunity to finally relax and free themselves from all the physical and mental tolls countless battles had put on them. The group trudged forward in a disarrayed line with Time eagerly leading them towards the approaching farmhouse. 

“It’s always nice to see the Old Man so happy.” Twilight smiled in Time’s direction, and from his peripheral, he could see Four nod in response.

“Yeah, it’s not very often that you see the guy crack a genuine smile.”

They were just at the foot of the doorstep when a sudden yelp and draw of a sword caught their attention. Each swordsman swiveled on their heel in an instant, with some even going so far as to pull their weapon of choice out; as soon as they saw the scene before them, they all froze.

“Legend,” Time called out, one eyebrow raised in quiet confusion. “ What are you doing?”

It was a simple question, really, but somehow, Legend was still sputtering to find a proper answer. With half of his sword buried in a pumpkin, he titled his head up and panickingly yelled out, “Idiots, don’t just stand there! Come over here and help me kill these spirits!”

The Links stood there in varying states of confusion and amusement and Legend was more than sure Warriors was chuckling at his expense. He watched as Wild crouched on the opposite side of him and experimentally gave the vegetable a poke.

“It doesn’t look like a spirit to me,” He frowned, and he silently directed a worrying glance towards the veteran. “ You didn’t get sick from my stew last night, did you? I know there's a couple of plants in there that are known to cause hallucinations but I didn’t -”

“What? No! These are all Pumpkin Heads! Don’t you guys recognise them?” Legend said as he slashed through a couple more of the vegetables. When he looked back at the others, he seemed to deflate a bit when all he received were blank stares. “ Really? Big spirit that possesses a pumpkin as a head? No, nothing?”

“Just looks like regular old pumpkins to me.” Time drew back and let his shoulders drop in relief. Good, no real danger here, and he was especially happy that he and the group didn’t lead any real enemies towards his wife and home. A sudden thought came to mind and he pressed his lips into a tight frown. “ Although once Malon finds out, she most likely won’t treat it as such.”

As if on cue, Malon rounded the corner of the Cucco’s coop with a bucket of water in hand, absentmindedly humming a familiar tune. She lit up as she saw her husband and her self - proclaimed sons waiting by the door, but her expression dropped to unbridled horror once she saw what the Links were staring at. The bucket she was carrying slipped from her grasp and thudded mutely to the ground.

“My pumpkins!”

All faces turned to her in alarm with Legend’s expression harboring the most guilt and panic out of all of them.

“Ms. Malon, I -”

Whatever Legend tried to say was completely lost to the commotion as the redhead rushed to the scene of the crime, hands trembling as she slowly lifted up one of the destroyed pumpkins.

“These pumpkins were raised from the few seeds I was able to get this year; now all them are completely ruined.” The quiet sorrow was quickly replaced with barely - contained fury as she directed a glare towards her husband. “ Link, explain.”

“I believe it was a misunderstanding,” Time began calmly, but underneath that facade, Legend was more than sure their leader was just as frightened as the rest of them. “ Legend thought the pumpkins were an enemy that only seemed to appear in his Hyrule. I doubt he was truly trying to ruin our crops, but rather trying to protect all of us.”

“Is that so?” Malon drawled. 

There was a moment of pause between the group and for some reason, the air seemed thicker to Legend. All throughout their time together, Malon has been nothing but hospitable toward them. Whenever the group stumbled into Time’s Hyrule, she was always there to cook them a fresh hot meal, always there to patch up their wounds and provide them with as many potions as they needed, always there to provide them with warm and comforting beds in a house that was free from Moblins and Keeses. What would happen now that Legend single - handedly destroyed that trust? Would Malon openly show her hatred? Would she kick him out of her house? The millions of panicked thoughts began to make him dizzy.

The silence ended with a long tired sigh. 

With hands placed on hips and a small pout on her lips, Malon said, “ Well, then I guess it can’t be helped. You boys have been on a lot of adventures and whenever something strikes a bad chord in you, you just can’t help but go and defend yourself.” She crouched down to the Hero of Legend’s eye level and smiled warmly. “ It’s alright to mess up, hon; I know you didn’t mean anything bad by it and I’m not gonna hold this little mishap over your head. What’s done is done, and the only thing to do now is move on.”

Slowly but surely, the feelings of dread plaguing Legend seemed to disappear like a fog clearing up. He hadn’t destroyed Malon’s trust; he hadn’t lost one of the few people he had met that was willing to love and care for him like their own son. He hated the Goddess and everything she stood for but maybe once, he could offer her a little thank you for making sure that this trivial situation didn’t ruin one of the places and people he had to call home.

Malon rose up and crossed her arms over her chest, surveying what was left of her pumpkin patch. “ Now it looks like the only thing left to deal with is all these destroyed pumpkins.” She frowned in thought. “ I guess I can just turn these into compost.”

“Actually,” The group turned to see Wild with pieces of pumpkin held in each hand and Twilight right beside him picking at the flesh and seeds of another large piece. The Hero of Wilds’s eyes seemed to twinkle with a particular shine, one that usually came whenever he was about to cook. “ I think these pumpkins are just ripe enough to be used in cooking. We could make stuff like pumpkin stew, meat - stuffed pumpkins ...”

“Pumpkin pie,” Twilight added in between mouthfuls. “ Pumpkin muffins.”

“Pumpkin soup, pumpkin bread - really, anything you can think of, we can make!”

The group rose up with quiet murmurs of agreement and some were even so bold as to shout out more recipes they could make. Legend carefully removed his sword from his latest vegetable victim and sheathed it, listening silently to the excited words from the others around him. He quietly let out a sigh of relief; perhaps the situation wasn’t as bad as it seemed.

“Then it’s settled,” Malon proudly announced with a smirk on her lips. “ We’ll have a pumpkin feast tonight!”

The group erupted into cheers.


	2. Campfire

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Summary: The Links sit by the campfire and tell stories, and one of them worries about the future in the meantime. 
> 
> Warnings: None

As the sun set earlier and the nights grew colder, having a campfire around became more and more of a blessing. Not only did it keep the group warm and provide an excellent cooking fire, but it also gave the Links a chance to sit and breathe, and remind them that even though they’re Hylia’s Chosen Heroes, they’re people first and foremost.

With arms raised high and eyes wide, Four stood before the other heroes, face illuminated by the campfire’s light. “ There I was, on top of Death Mountain, severely wounded and on the verge of collapsing, when I saw it: a giant Gouen. It was easily ten times the size of me -”

“That’s not saying much.”

“Shut up, Legend.” He deadpanned for a moment, and then just as quickly went back to his theatrics. “ - and the whole thing was covered in fire that was just as hot as the lava that flows underground. I was fighting that thing for hours: left, right, left, right, quickstep, slash, and duck just in time to avoid a fireball to the face. I was completely and utterly exhausted but I knew I couldn’t stop because the Great Fairy of Flame’s life was all depending on me. So when Blue - I mean, when _I_ delivered the final blow, it was like the weight of the world had been lifted off my shoulders. The Gouen was finally gone, and when I climbed up the rest of the mountain, I found the Great Fairy waiting patiently at the top, Silver Key in hand. ” He plopped himself back onto his tree stump, the whole storytelling ordeal seeming to exhaust him.

“That’s all?”

A large portion of the group turned to face Twilight with curious looks.

“Yeah, that’s all.” Four shot back goodnaturedly and then as if to emphasise his point, he raised an eyebrow and challenged, “ Why, you got a better story than me?”

“‘Course I do.” The ranchhand gingerly rose to his feet. He regarded each of the group members with a haughty glance and inwardly chuckled as he noticed a few heroes were now leaning forward, eager to hear about what troubles he encountered on his own adventures. The whole group fell into silence as soon as the Hero of Twilight cleared his throat, “ Not only did I climb up Death Mountain, but I also had to defend myself from Gorons ...”

The rest of the night was filled with laughter, gasps, and objections as the group exchanged stories between the burning flames of the fire. A few arguments ensued during the evening - notably between Warriors and Legend - and when Time finally shared his own story of climbing Death Mountain very late into the night, the group was so exhausted that they couldn’t even tell if all of the Old Man’s story was completely true or not. It was one of the few nights where the Heroes of Courage could just sit around and talk with each other, free from the burden of fighting off Lynels and Moblins and free from the ever - present knowledge that their Hyrules all depended on them being able to make it to the overarching threat in time.

By the time the flames of the campfire began to weaken, most of the Links were fast asleep. Sat on a log by the dying fire, Wind glanced from hero to hero with tired eyes: Legend was tucked into his bedroll with Hyrule curled into his side, Wild and Four were snoring incessantly into Wolfie’s fur whom had appeared just an hour ago, Warriors was sleeping soundly in his bedroll by the edge of the clearing with all his belongings neatly folded up beside him, and even Time, who was perhaps the most highstrung out of all of them, was starting to nod off from his place by a large pine.

Wind rubbed at his eyes again, pleading for his mind to settle down and to just let him get some sleep but to no avail.

His whole body jumped as a gentle hand was placed on his shoulder, and he nearly toppled over as he whipped around to see who was behind him.

“Oh, sorry, Wind!” Sky quickly withdrew his hand and began to apologise in an instant, “ I didn’t mean to scare you!”

The Hero of Winds blinked for a second, and then slowly slumped back to his position by the fire. “ It’s okay, Sky. I know you didn’t mean it.”

A few moments of silence passed between the two, and then in a quieter voice, Sky said, “ It’s late, y’know; don’t you want to get some rest?”

“Yeah, I do, but I …” Wind trailed off and bit his lip. Being the youngest of the group, he felt like he needed to uphold some sort of image; he felt that he needed to show the others that he was just as bold and tenacious as all the other Heroes of Courage rather than the little kid he appeared to be. He had to be strong, both physically and mentally, and he was sure that if he just waited a little longer by the campfire all his doubts and fears would just blow away like the smoke in the sky.

But he’s been telling himself that for the past hour, hasn’t he? He’s silently been repeating over and over and over again that ‘everything will be fine, he just needs to wait a little bit longer’ but each minute passes by and his resolve weakens further and further. Maybe he should just confide in Sky; if there’s anyone who will take his problems seriously, it would be him. Wind nervously answered back,

“Um, yeah, I wanna go to sleep but I … I can’t stop thinking.”

He watched anxiously as Sky’s eyebrows pinched together and he tilted his head, “Can’t stop thinking about what?”

“About, uh ...” Time to put that Hero of Courage title to the test. “ Leaving you guys … one day.”

In spite of Wind’s own fears of Sky laughing or poking fun at him, he was relieved to see that the Skyloftian simply regarded him with a look of concern. “ Us leaving? You mean like on errands or things like that?”

“No, I mean -.” Wind gestured vaguely before sighing and lowering his voice, “ I mean one day we’ll find whoever’s behind this whole infected monsters thing and defeat them, right? So if that happens, aren’t we all just gonna go home after?” He brought his knees up to his chest and rested his chin on top, watching as the glowing embers of the campfire began to fade. “ I know it’s selfish but I don’t want us to separate and go back to our own Hyrules because it’ll mean I’ll never get to see you guys again. We might all be hundreds of years apart but you guys are like family to me: Time’s the old cranky dad that likes to keep secrets, Twilight’s like the big brother offering to give me piggyback rides, Wild’s always there to cook a warm meal for us, Legend and Hyrule are always offering to teach me magic, Warriors’s the guy who’s always keeping us safe, Four is always ready to play pranks with me, and you’re always there to listen to me, Sky.” He finished off, and he let his forehead drop to his knees and allowed the fabric to muffle his last thought, “ I don’t want to lose any of you.”

The air was still save for the dying crackles of fire and for a moment, Wind was more than sure that Sky had left him at some point during his rant; but to his surprise, a rustle of fabric sounded from behind him and when he got the courage to peek an eye out, he saw Sky sitting right next to him.

“I’m scared to lose you guys, too,” He began, but his tone seemed to be lighter, more accepting. “ But there’s only so much we can do as Heroes of Courage, y’know? Hylia brought us together here for a reason, and once that reason is done and over with, it’d only make sense for her to send us back home. I have a lot of people waiting for me back home: Mr. Gaepora, Groose, Sun -” He mentioned his Zelda with a big, goofy smile. “- and I’m sure you have a lot waiting for you, too. So as much as I like you guys, I know it’s not going to last forever, because we’re all needed in different places and by different people. Besides, what would Outset Island do without you? I’m sure the whole place is falling apart without their Hero of Winds there.” The Skyloftian joked, and that was enough to earn a small smile from Wind. Once Sky had settled back down, he smiled warmly at the younger hero, “ We have a short time together, I know that, but we shouldn’t let it go to waste by worrying all the time. That day where we all leave for home will come and no matter how strong we think we are, we can’t change the future; so until then, why don’t we stop thinking about it and live in the moment, yeah? Let’s talk about all our adventures and experiences, the people we met and the things we’ve seen, and all the things we learned along the way. We’re Heroes of Courage, but we’re also people with hopes and dreams, so why don’t we share those until the very end?”

Wind took a few seconds to process the words and once he did, he couldn’t help but feel his heart become lighter. Sky was right: their adventure would eventually come to an end, but until then, they should cherish the time they have with each other, and live in the moment as much as they can. With a soft nod, the Hero of Winds smiled, “ Thank you, Sky, for hearing me out.”

“Of course.” Sky smiled back, and Wind couldn’t be happier: he had picked the right time, at the right place, to talk with the right person about the right things.


	3. Warm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Summary: Sometimes a hero falls sick, and they just can't help the thoughts that come along with it.
> 
> Warnings: Swearing

Hyrule felt absolutely awful today.

He first noticed in the morning when he woke up a lot later than usual. Instead of cracking his eyes open at the peak of dawn, he instead woke up four hours later, around noontime. _Around noontime_ . None of the other Links slept in that late, not even _Sky_ ; but that wasn’t really concerning, though. The group had gone through a tough battle with 20 Lizalfos from Twilight’s Hyrule yesterday, and since the enemies there were more agile and brutal than they were used to fighting, it took quite the amount of effort and energy to bring them down. And not to mention that Hyrule was the one to heal the most life - threatening injuries, too: when Time had gotten a deep cut to the neck, and when Warriors had a large gash running through the right side of his body, and when Legend had broken about six or seven ribs doing some crazy stunt that pretty much saved all their lives, the Hero of Hyrule was there to save them in an instant, the magic of the Life Spell tingling readily at his fingertips. So it was fine, he was probably just a little bit more tired from all the commotion yesterday; really, nothing to worry about.

But as he stepped into the river beside the camp to wash up, he couldn’t help but feel a little bit worried. It had taken him a great deal of effort just to get out of his bedroll and stand up, and even a greater amount to stumble over to the body of water. There seemed to be a prominent, deep ache etched into his bones and the world seemed to sway beneath his feet with every dizzying step he took and for some reason, the whole effort was starting to make him tremble like a leaf. He eventually had to force himself into the river, because as soon as his toes touched the cold water, his trembles turned into downright shivers that felt like he was caught in a winter storm in the dead of night. This wasn’t normal; he shouldn’t be feeling this way all because he stepped into a small stream of water.

 _Alright, Link_ , he coached, _just calm down_ . _You probably just got hurt somewhere, that’s all_.

Yeah, that must be it. There’ve been a handful of times where he accidentally forgot to heal a wound or two and as a result, felt generally unwell the next day. So if he was feeling that exact same way now, then the solution to the problem was just as simple as finding the injury and healing it. 

He spent the next three minutes searching his body for the supposed wound but to no avail; his skin was its usual pale and pristine self, not a single scratch or scrape anywhere.

Then maybe - he quizzically stared at his bare chest and tentatively allowed his hands to hover there - he had broken a rib or something? It really didn’t make sense considering that he didn’t have the sharp pain that was usually associated with the injury but then again, it’s not very often he got a broken rib. Besides, it probably wouldn’t hurt to use just _one_ Life Spell as a test.

He was wrong. The moment he allowed the magic to flow through his veins, the severity of his problems seemed to multiply by ten. The deep ache in his bones had now settled into his muscles and made him feel like a big blob of Chuchu jelly, and he was more than sure that he was shivering more from the physical exertion rather than from the freezing touch of the river. His magic felt cold and uncontrollable at this point, like it was a beast that Hyrule couldn’t seem to tame, and he could tell that the amount of energy he was pouring into his Life Spell was going anywhere but the invisible wound it was supposed to heal. He was finally able to pry his hands away from his chest within a few seconds, and once he was able to stop the stream of magic, found himself mindlessly wading over to a jutted rock, completely and utterly exhausted.

He lifelessly leaned his forehead against the smooth surface of the rock and tried to get his breath back. Why wasn’t he healing? He was an experienced magic user - has been for _years_ \- but the whole magic process seemed to blow up in his face like it was his first time trying out the art. He felt weak in the knees: he seemed to have a wound that couldn't be healed with his Life Spell.

“Pack up, boys; we’ll be leaving in ten minutes.”

Hyrule froze. That was Time’s voice echoing just beyond the trees, and as mentioned by his announcement, it sounded like the group would be leaving in just a few minutes.

The traveller bit his lip. He was beyond exhausted at this point, no doubt about it, and he was pretty sure that if he took one step out of the river, he would just keel over like a chopped tree; but just because he couldn't figure out what was going on with his own body and magic, did that mean he should just go and tell the group to wait? If memory serves, a lot of the Links were eager to get out of this dangerous forest as soon as the battle was over but couldn't due to the nature of their injuries; but now everyone's healed - everyone except himself.

So … did that mean he would get left behind? Would the other Heroes of Courage continue forward even when one of their own couldn’t seem to get their head on straight? He knew that they were willing to do almost anything to keep themselves and those they loved alive, so the thought really wasn't a far - cry from possibility. 

He finally settled on a plan. He would travel to wherever they needed to go, face whatever threat they needed to face, and as soon as they found their camp for the night, he would immediately go off on his own and search for a healer that could help him figure out what was wrong with him. It was plain and simple; a mission he could easily take on.

With a careful push, he managed to steady himself and wade his way back to shore. 

It appeared that he made it back to camp just in time: most of the heroes were already packed up and chatting idly with their leader while others were just about done with gathering their things, and if Hyrule played his cards right, he could act just as casual as the rest of them. He started by moving to his bedroll and began to roll it up, and briefly paused when a pair of Pegasus Boots stepped into view.

“I was wondering where you went.” Legend offhandedly commented, and he crouched down to help his successor gather his things. 

The notion was so nonchalant, and the idle hum of Legend talking about whatever seemed to put the Hero of Hyrule at a state of ease. His little self - pep - talk from earlier appeared to do wonders for his resolve and with this newfound strength, he felt that he could last just long enough to travel, find shelter, and find someone who was willing to help him out with his dilemma. 

His hopes were dashed when Legend suddenly regarded him with narrowed eyes and a matter - of - fact tone, “ You’re sick.”

It was only two words, but it seemed to have had the same effect on Hyrule as one of Time’s full - blown lectures. “ O - Oh yeah? Didn’t notice.” He inwardly cringed as his voice came out in a little rasp.

“Bullshit. You’re pale as hell, you got bags under your eyes, you got an extra four hours of sleep and you’re _still_ tired, and you haven’t been paying attention to a single thing I’ve been saying for the past five minutes; not to mention you took half - an - hour to wash up, and not even Warriors takes that long just for that.”

Hyrule’s surprised facade crumbled in an instant. Goddesses, Legend was perceptive.

“Fine, I’m sick,” He finally admitted, but now that his true emotions were revealed, he couldn’t stop the mess of panicked words that came after, “ But I don’t know what’s wrong with me! I really just thought that I got hurt yesterday and didn’t see it so when I checked everywhere for a gash, scape, scratch, whatever, I didn’t find _anything_! And then I thought everything would just work out if I used a Life Spell on myself but when I used it, it made everything ten times worse and I think something’s wrong with my magic so I was just planning to follow you guys to the next town and find someone there who’s good with Life Spells so they can -”

“Then you’re just regular sick.”

Hyrule paused mid - rant and regarded his mentor with pure confusion. “ I’m - huh?”

“Y’know, like,” Legend gestured vaguely in the air. “ you caught a cold, or some kind of flu; something along those lines.”

“Oh, okay … so what spell do I use for that?”

He stared back at the other hero with complete disbelief. “ What? It’s not something you can heal with a spell! You just need to eat warm food and get some rest for a few days, that’s it!”

“What?! But I don’t have time for that; I need to get better now so we can get moving!”

Time’s voice rang out over the camp again, “ C’mon, boys, we need to get going if we want to make it to town by sunset.”

Legend scowled and made to stand up. “ I’m just gonna tell the Old Man that you’re sick and we need to stay here for the night.” But before he could take a single step forward, he felt the younger hero grab his arm.

“Leg, please don’t, I -” He bit his lip. “ I can make it, I swear. Time said before sunset, right? So it’s just a five hour walk and I can definitely walk for five hours. If you want, I can stay close to you and only use my sword to fight off any monsters we meet and I promise that I’ll tell you right away if I get any worse, okay? Just please don’t say anything to the others.”

His heartbeat thumped anxiously in his chest as he watched his friend consider the words, and held a breath when Legend finally let out a scoff, 

“Fine, but don’t do anything stupid.”

Hyrule let out a sigh of relief. Good, he had won over his mentor’s approval, and he knew full - well that Legend wouldn’t betray him, not even if his life solely depended on it. He shoved all his items into his pouch without a hint of hesitance and forced himself up onto shaky legs. He could do this, he could walk for a few hours to the next sign of civilization; they didn’t nickname him the Traveller for nothing. He took a few tentative steps forward,

And blacked out on the third step.

The next time he opened his eyes, it was to a dark night sky dotted with hundreds upon hundreds of shining stars. It was a cool out, but a soothing fire burning brightly next to him seemed to ward off the cold air and a thick blanket wrapped snugly around his body appeared to chase away his fevered chills. He hummed absentmindedly at the comfort, and allowed himself to relax further into his little burrow of warmth, his mind content that he no longer had to worry about keeping up appearances.

He paused as he felt a bit of fur touch his face and being his usual, curious self, turned to see two blue eyes gleaming back at him.

“Wolfie.” He rasped out, and although the whisper was barely audible, the wolf still perked up and turned to face the Hero of Hyrule. The creature nudged gently at the Hylian’s hand and upon registering the cue, the latter brought a hand up to card soothing through the wolf’s fur and sighed when the motion appeared to bring an extra layer of comfort to the young hero. How long has it been since he was able to relax like this? To not worry about Wizzrobes or Lynels chasing him down?

“I’m glad you two are having fun over there.”

Hyrule startled at the sound of Legend’s voice and immediately sat up. He looked to see the other sitting cross - legged right beside him with cheek in palm and tired eyes staring idly back at him. Seriously, how did Hyrule miss him? He was practically two steps away from him!

Regardless of his successor’s shocked expression, the Hero of Legend began his frustrated rant, “ Honestly, what was I thinking back there, letting you just get up and walk around like everything was fine? I knew you were sick - right from the get - go, in fact - and I actually _agreed_ with you that you were alright to travel like some kind of idiot. Lo and behold, I let you take three steps forward and what do you do? Collapse right onto the ground in front of everyone. Goddesses, you almost gave me a heart attack when you just fell like that, nevermind everyone else.”

Hyrule’s eyes widened. Did he really scare everyone that much?

“But we're lucky that you did that here instead of on the road; I would hate to think about what would happen if you fainted in the middle of an open field, or somewhere during battle.”

“Where’s -” He tried to clear away the dry scratch in his throat. “ Where’s here?”

“Camp. Once the Old Man found out that you had a bad fever, he told us to unpack our things and settle in for the night.” And under his breath, the elder hero quickly scolded himself, “ Ugh, if I just knew you that your fever was that high, I would’ve had you sit your ass right back into that bedroll in a second.”

Oh, so they were still at camp? That was a relief: he honestly didn’t think he could handle standing up, nevermind walking.

He paused. Wait, what did Legend say before?

“‘ _Us_ ’?” He eventually rasped out, and the word blew past his lips like he couldn’t believe what he heard.

“Yeah, us: Me, Twilight, the Old Man, Warriors, Sky, Wind - everybody. We’re all here, just doing … our own … ” The Hero of Legend came to a stop when he finally caught on to the underlying meaning of the question. “... You thought we were going to leave you? All because you have a stupid cold?” 

Hyrule felt his cheeks heat up, and he was sure it wasn’t because of the fever.

Legend rubbed at his face and sighed, “ Honestly, the things you believe sometimes.” And with a look of pure sincerity, he said, “ Listen, we’re Heroes of Courage, not monsters. If one of us is sick, we don’t just get up and fuck off to our next destination; we stay here and wait for them to get better, no matter how long it takes. So in case you didn’t get it through your thick skull, there’s no way in hell that we’re leaving you behind. We’ll stay here for as long as _you_ need to - Goddesses and swirling purple portals be damned - and we’ll handle all the cooking, cleaning, fighting, and whatever until you feel completely better. So that means no standing, no walking, and _especially_ no magic; all you need to do now is just eat, sleep, and stay warm, got it?”

The younger hero processed the words for a minute. Just eat, sleep, and stay warm? It was strange: he’s never had that luxury before, especially when he was first starting out on his adventure; in fact, he couldn’t really remember a time where he _wasn_ ’ _t_ constantly up and running just to make sure that he didn’t wake up one day to find his blood spilled across the ground and Ganon resurrected in the corner.

He dropped his shoulders.

Perhaps there really was no workaround for a sickness like this. There was nothing he could heal with his Life Spell, and there were no magic words he could say to drive away the fatigue, weakness, and headache; the simple solution was really just as Legend said: eat, sleep, and stay warm. He could do that, now that he knew for sure that the others wouldn’t leave him.

With a small smile, he looked up to his mentor and said, “ Thanks, Leg, I guess that’s what I really needed to hear.”

“No problem, kid. Now c’mon, go back to sleep. I’ll wake you up once Wild’s done with the Veggie Cream soup, alright?”

With a simple nod, Hyrule did exactly as he was told with no protest. He found himself sinking further into his bedroll, warmed by the blankets, campfire, and wolf surrounding him, and especially warmed by the knowledge that no matter how sick or useless he was, he wouldn’t be left or abandoned by the other Links, not even for a second. 

He was sure that he'll be better in no time. 


	4. Surprise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Summary: A new friend is brought to camp, and it surprises a certain Ordonian
> 
> Warnings: Some violence

It was a surprisingly cold day out, Twilight mused, although that’s to be expected as the season goes further into fall. The cold, crisp air and colorful leaves reminded him of his home back in Ordon Village; if memory serves, he would be harvesting Ordonian pumpkins with Fado right now.

He sighed wistfully and tended to the campfire with a long stick. He wondered how everyone back home was doing. Beth, Talo, Malo, and certainly Colin missed him, and he was sure Fado was struggling to herd all the goats back into their house without his and Epona’s help. And of course there was his mentor, Rusl - well,  _ one of his mentors _ , he supposed, now that he met Time - along with his wife, Uli, who were most likely busy taking care of their newborn child; it’s a shame that he was never able to meet their new baby, but if he knew anything about Rusl, he would excitedly tell Twilight all about his child from sunup to sundown.

And how could he forget Midna? Their meeting may have happened by chance but he felt that they were destined to meet. They had grown to be close friends during their travels across Hyrule - maybe even more than that - and not a single day goes by where he doesn’t think about her. He wondered what would happen if he managed to say what was on his mind before she disappeared into the Mirror of Twilight; if his thoughts and feelings would be enough to make her stay, or allow him to live in the Twilight Realm alongside her. He could only speculate at this point. 

He nearly jumped out of his skin when a tan snout poked at his shoulder.

“Wild, is that a  _ bear _ ?!” He shouted, and he looked up to see his protege sitting idly on the creature’s back, a goofy grin on his face.

“Yeah, isn’t it great? I was out looking for herbs when I found a bear following me around! He looked like he was hungry so I did a little bit of fishing for him -”

Which meant Wild had jumped into a river, Twilight frowned, again.

“- And then we became best friends! Like he watched me cook them by the fire and everything! Although he was starting to lose his patience towards the end.” He shrugged nonchalantly as if a bear watching him cook was just another daily occurrence. “ Anyways, did you know he’s a big fan of Hearty Salmon? I’m more of a Voltfin Trout guy myself but to each their own, y’know?”

Twilight was barely able to make it through the whole story without pinching the bridge of his nose, “ Wild, you can’t just bring a bear to camp. You know full - well that that thing likes to go through food and attack anything it sees moving.”

“But he won’t, I promise!” The smile from Wild’s face had now given way to a defensive look, “ He’s very polite and friendly and hasn’t done anything to hurt me at all! Plus you always let dogs and cats follow you around, and you don’t even care when Legend brings a whole flock of seagulls to camp!”

The Hero of Legend stopped whatever he was doing at the mention of his name and gave the two a pointed look, “ Hey, you two leave the seagulls out of this.” But he was paid no mind.

“That’s because cats, dogs, and seagulls aren’t  _ actively  _ trying to maul me to death!” The Ordonian’s voice dropped to a lower volume in order to prevent the others from overhearing. “ You know how many times I almost got killed by a bear? Eight, and five of those times were as a wolf. The last thing I need right now is to make that number nine, or to have anyone die thanks to some idiot bringing a bear into camp. Really, you’re like the only one here who’s constantly putting us in danger.”

Perhaps he went too far on that one. He watched all the fight leave his protege like a potion being drained of its contents, giving way to wide eyes and a pale complexion.

“Wait, Cub, I didn’t -”

But Wild didn’t want to hear it. With a gentle tug of the bear’s fur, the Hero of Wilds nudged his companion towards the forest and left, not a single hint of hesitance shown in his actions. 

Twilight watched as the figure disappeared behind tall trees and overgrown bushes, and a large part of him just wanted to shift into his Twili form and run after their trail, but he paused instead.

Wait, why  _ should  _ Twilight go after him? Sure, he’s his mentor and all and he feels like he has a personal obligation to protect the kid but now that he thinks about it, hasn’t he been coddling him too much? Too many times has he taken to his Twili form to find a lost Wild that had wandered to the other half of a Hyrule just because he had a need for adventure, and too many times had he had to answer to Time for the crazy stunt his charge had decided to pull just for curiosity’s sake. Despite being 117 years old, Wild acted like a child - a feral child, at that - that would rather spend the whole day messing around in an open field rather than helping the people who needed him the most.

He crossed his arms over his chest and huffed. Seriously, how was Wild supposed to grow up and take responsibility for himself if Twilight was always there to bail him out? Maybe it’s about time for the Hero of Wilds to learn that he can’t just do whatever he wants, whenever he wants. He’ll learn in due time, Twilight assured himself, and he’ll be back by tonight for sure.

With that being said, he turned his back and went to go tend to the fire.

Wild wasn’t back that night. Everything seemed well among the remaining heroes, though: Warriors and Legend were locked in their usual banter, Wind and Four were telling exaggerated stories about their adventures, and Sky, Time, and Hyrule were all idly sitting by, amused by everyone’s antics; the only real difference tonight was Twilight and Wild, where the latter was nowhere to be found and the former worried profusely about his charge’s absence. 

Twilight restlessly tapped his foot against the ground and stared into what Hyrule would call dinner. Seriously, where was Wild? The Ordonian thought that he would be back in maybe two, three hours max but it had been _ten hours_ , and there was still no sign of him. Had he gotten hurt? Was he attacked by a hoard of Darias or Gerus that Hyrule often warned them about? Had a Zora grabbed him by the ankle and drowned him in a river? Twilight knew that his protege was very friendly towards Zoras so it really wasn’t out of the realm of possibilities.

“Go.”

He looked up to Time and stuttered out, “ H - Huh?”

Without ever shifting his gaze from the fire, he quietly whispered to his protege, “You’re worried about the cub, aren’t you? So you should go and find him; I’ll cover for you in the meantime.”

He processed the words for a few seconds, and then nodded. The old man was right: no matter how irresponsible, thoughtless, and careless Wild could be at times, he was still his protege, and as his mentor, Twilight should be there with him every step of the way, ready to help him up when he couldn’t find his footing in a situation. He left the group without so much as a sound, and as soon as he was out of sight, transformed into his Twili form and left, fervently following the scent of the former champion’s trail.

It had been about ten minutes by the time Twilight had finally found Wild. He was located in a small clearing of trees with, oddly enough, his bear companion laying down next to him; there was a small campfire going with a makeshift pot held over it, and the wolf could easily smell the tantalizing taste of Salmon Risotto.

He shook his head: this wasn’t the time to be salivating over the smell of real food. With a gentle command to his Shadow Crystal, his form shifted to that of a Hylian’s.

“Cub, I -”

_ Go away _ , Wild signed, and as if to emphasize, the large bear beside him growled.

The Ordonian immediately took a two steps back and sighed. This was going to be hard: not only did he have to worry about his friend fleeing if he got too close, but he also had to worry about a bear potentially running up and attacking him, and he really didn’t feel like defending himself from a creature twice his size. He finally chose to settle himself on the ground instead, intent on making himself seem as small and non - threatening as possible.

“Listen, I didn’t mean anything I said back there, alright? We got stranded in Hyrule’s Hyrule, we’ve been travelling for days, infected monsters are always showing up and trying to kill us, and I guess I was thinking about what was going on back home, so I was just really stressed out this afternoon. When you brought a bear to camp, I guess that was the final straw and I just took out all my anger on you. I mean, yeah, you really shouldn’t bring a bear of all things to a camp but that thing about you always putting us into trouble was completely wrong. If anything, we put  _ ourselves  _ into trouble, and it has nothing to do with you being here.”

He watched anxiously as his protege stirred the pot, never daring to meet Twilight’s own concerned gaze. He could see the bear beside Wild carefully watching him, paws resting readily on the ground as if it was anticipating for the Hero of Twilight’s one bad slip - up. After what seemed like centuries, the former champion finally let go of his ladle and brought his hands up to sign again,

_ You _ ’ _ re wrong _ , and that made Twilight lean forward,  _ my whole life _ ’ _ s been nothing but bringing trouble to everyone _ .  _ Back when my Hyrule wasn’t destroyed, everything I ever did just made things worse: I followed Zelda around, and she hated me; I protected people from danger, and now the Yiga are trying to kill me; I did everything I possibly could to prevent Zelda from dying, and  _ I _ literally ended up dying right in the middle of Fort Hateno, and I was lucky that Impa was willing to put me in the Shrine of Resurrection. Now I’m here with eight different Links from eight different timelines and it looks like everywhere I go, trouble always follows. Just two weeks ago I led a bunch of Bokoblins to us because I took a couple of their weapons, and then five days ago I dyed Warriors’s hair green because I tossed him a green potion and it hit a branch and spilled all over him.  _

“Well that could happen to anyone,” Twilight interrupted, “ Those bottles are fragile so one small hit and they’ll shatter.”

_ Fine, but what about everything else? The Yiga, my Zelda, my Hyrule - everything’s a mess because I can’t get my life together; I can’t even  _ remember  _ what my life was like in the first place! _

“That’s different! The part about your Hyrule being destroyed is all Ganon’s fault, not yours!”

_ Then why couldn’t I live up to be a true Hero of Courage like the rest of you? Why couldn’t I just stop this whole thing from happening in the first place? _

Twilight was growing frustrated. Where was Wild getting the notion that he could’ve prevented an immortal evil demon from corrupting his Guardians? He was just a 17 year old kid back then, for Hylia’s sake! 

He opened his mouth to respond back, retort at the ready, when a sudden axe whizzed by and lodged itself into the tree behind him. His surprised gaze quickly met Wild’s for a brief moment before he abruptly stood up, Ordonian sword at the ready. Just a few seconds later, a horde of snarling enemies pushed their way from the forest and surrounded the heroes from all sides.

The Hero of Twilight knitted his brows as he slowly stepped back toward the center of the clearing, “ Darias? But I thought Hyrule said they only show up around Death Mountain!”

“Infected.” Was all Wild whispered back, but Twilight completely understood. It had become a common occurrence by now to see monsters that they were sure only showed up in one place and one timeline now showing up all over different eras; and as if some of them having to fight monsters that they never encountered before wasn’t enough, the enemies’ blood seemed to make them stronger, allowing them to have the upperhand on any poor passerby they could fight.

And it looks like Twilight and Wild were a couple of those poor passersby.

The Hero of Twilight swiftly leaned his head away as one of the Darias swung its axe and in the same breath, the former pierced its chest and forced his sword up, causing the enemy to crumple to the ground in defeat. He rose his sword out of the corpse and grimaced: black blood, these  _ are _ infected.

He perked up when he heard the dull thuds of feet running towards him and ducked just in time to avoid a monster from either side going to swing at him with their respective axes. He winced when the sound of two heads clunking filled the quiet night air and hastily got back onto his feet to slash at the two Darias writhing on the ground. 

He felt light on his feet as he continued to attack the oncoming enemies. Some came to attack him on their own while others stayed stubbornly in pairs, but the process was all the same regardless: step, lean, duck, sidestep, block, spin, and end his foe with a well - practiced stab. If there were two coming at him, he just needed to be quicker, and that was no problem for a hero who was used to facing five Shadow Beasts at a time. 

Every now and then he would catch a quick glimpse of his protege fighting just a few steps beside him, and just like always, every attack was graceful and cleverly calculated. The Ordonian grinned: Wild may act like a child at times, but he took his fighting seriously, and it showed through his undeterred concentration. No enemy should have ever made the mistake of crossing paths with the Champion of Hyrule.

The last enemy fell down in a graceless heap, and Twilight wasted no time in ending its life with an Ending Blow. There was something poetic about it, he mused as he sheathed his sword, ending a battle with an attack that his predecessor had taught him long ago.

He took an eager step forward towards his protege, congratulatory praises at the ready, when a scaled hand reached from behind and dug into his shoulder.

“Twilight!”

Wild’s shocked shriek rang through the air and Twilight had to do everything in his power to make sure that his pained yelp didn’t join it. His other hand scrambled to grab at the Daria’s wrist and when he did, he used every bit of energy he had left to force it back. The threat of an axe raised just above his head made adrenaline rush through his veins, and he became acutely aware of the blood running down his shoulder and soaking into his tunic; but he couldn’t pay any mind to it, because he needed to focus on biding time for a panicked Wild so he could swipe through his Sheikah Slate and find the weapon he needed.

But he didn’t need to wait for that because in a blink of an eye, a rush of brown fur dug its fangs into the enemy’s side and pushed its body aside, freeing the Hero of Twilight from the Daria’s grip. He watched the brown mass - which he now noticed was Wild’s bear companion - tear at the infected foe with sharp white claws and no mercy. The animal finally stepped back when the creature had been torn to shreds, and took a few seconds to make sure it was dead.

Twilight’s breath hitched when the bear started to pad towards him. He wouldn’t necessarily say that he had a fear of bears per se, but the sight of the very same creature that liked to use him for hunting practice was walking towards him did tend to make him feel a little bit unnerved.

However, to his complete and utter surprise, instead of the animal coming over to attack him, it instead gently nudged at his side and whined. 

He froze. Was this bear trying to comfort him? 

And with that very same suspicion in mind, the Hero of Twilight reached his free hand forward and tentatively placed it on the creature’s head, ruffling the fur in the same way the other Links did when he was a wolf.

“You saved me back there,” He smiled sincerely, “ Thank you.”

The creature yawned back in response.

He startled when he felt a gentle hand touch his good shoulder, and turned just in time to see the Hero of Wilds offering him a red potion.

“For your shoulder,” He urged, and when he saw his mentor ready to protest, he added in a quick, “ Don’t worry, I got 25 more in my bag.”

Twilight drank it greedily, and felt its healing effects immediately. He could dimly feel the gentle knitting of skin beneath his tunic, and when he looked at the injury, he found that there was nothing left but a few white scars; but even those would fade in a day or so.

He looked to see the former champion staring at the ground with his curtain of hair hiding his eyes, “ Jeeze, that was stupid of me. I should’ve kept an extra set of arrows at the ready; I could’ve helped you the second that Daria got you.”

“You did help me, well -” The Ordonian patted the bear standing quietly beside him. “ - your bear helped me, but you know what I mean. Sure, the thing saved me and all but if it wasn’t for you taming him in the first place, I wouldn’t have a ten foot tall animal here to save me. So really, because of you, I avoided getting an axe to the head.”

The Hero of Wilds beamed at him and for some reason, his small smile reminded him of Colin’s back home. 

Ah, he wondered how Ordon Village was doing back home; how much Colin, Beth, Talo, and Malo grew up while he was away, and how Rusl and Uli were doing with their newborn, and how Mayor Bo and Ilia were running and keeping the town safe, and how Fado was doing with preparing the ranch for the winter; and how could he forget Midna? The leader of the Twili, the one who was always there to guide him on his adventure, the one he had grown to love. He missed them all dearly, but he knew he wasn’t alone.

Twilight ruffled a hand through his protege’s hair, “ Y’know, as much trouble as you are, I wouldn’t trade you for the world.”

Because when Wild laughed, he was reminded that the Hero of Wilds was his family, too, and he would do anything to protect the ones he loved. 


	5. Companion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Summary: There were little differences here and there between each one of the Links, but not quite as little when it came to companions.
> 
> Warnings: Swearing

“So Sky, who’s your bird friend over there?”

The Hero of Skies tried to suppress his giggles as he met Twilight’s inquisitive eyes with his own sparkling ones, “ This is Red, my Loftwing!”

The other heroes looked curiously at the large bird currently pinning their friend to the ground and licking his face much like a dog would do to its owner. The creature was easily the size of one of Wild’s bears, and its feathers were a brilliant red that shone even in the midnight moon’s glow; as Wind had described it before, it was practically like a big red seagull. Sky’s companion was a complete surprise to them, and any similarities between the amiable fairies and gentle horses the other Links had met were not found with the excitable Loftwing. 

Sky’s Zelda, whom the group affectionately agreed to call ‘Sun’, smiled cheerfully at the pair. 

“He missed you a lot, you know,” She claimed, and there was a tender quality to her voice. “ Ever since you left with your friends all those weeks ago, Red’s been flying all over the place looking for you.”

Sky ran a gentle hand over the bird’s beak. “ Awww, I missed you, too, Red! But I’m here now, so we should be able to spend a lot of time together tomorrow!” And the bird cooed in response, nudging his head carefully against the Skyloftian’s chest. The affectionate relationship shared between the Guardian Bird and Skyloftian was heartwarming, and a few of the heroes couldn’t help but smile at the scene.

“Speaking of which,” All faces turned to Time. “ We really should be getting some rest. I doubt there’ll be any monsters this high up, so we should be able to sleep easy tonight, and then we can use the following days to catch up on things we’ve been meaning to do.”

“The old man’s right,” Four chimed in. “ Our swords and shields can definitely use a repair or two, so if there’s any good place to do it, then it’s here.”

Sun excitedly clapped her hands together and beamed. “ So then what are we waiting for? Let’s get you guys inside! Link can of course get into his dorm all by himself, but the rest of you,” She nodded her head towards the remaining heroes, “ will need a place to sleep! Lucky for you eight, four rooms at the Knight Academy just opened up!”

So under the midnight moon, Sun snuck the rest of Hylia’s chosen heroes from the center of Skyloft to the aforementioned building with barely a sound, her father sleeping upstairs completely unaware.

▲  
\---▲ ▲---

It was a peaceful night’s sleep for Legend, which was very rare considering the adventures he’s been on. His dream was nothing special: just him sailing across the ocean, small waves lapping at the wooden bottom of his raft and the salty air kissing his cheeks. The gentle lull of the sea was soothing, and he floated along without a care in the world, the calling seagulls from above reminding him of a place he knew long ago.

He yelled out and fell from his bed when a sudden caw filled the small dorm; apparently, all the commotion was enough to wake up a sleeping Hyrule and have him cry out all the way from the other side of the room. 

"Hylia  _ fuck _ !" The Hero of Legend shouted to no one in particular, and once he gathered his bearings, he looked up towards the window and glared at the Crimson Loftwing staring at him. “ What the hell do you think you’re doing?!”

He impatiently rose to his feet and pushed past the bird’s head in order to get a better view of outside: the sky was barely the shade of its usual blue, with the sun just a speck of light over the horizon. His fingers dug deep into the wooden frame beneath him. 

“ _ Motherfucker _ ,” He cursed, and he looked the bird right in the eye when he said, “ You woke me up and it’s not even seven in the morning!”

The Loftwing only tilted his head in response.

“Maybe something’s wrong.” Hyrule guessed. With a tired rub of his eyes, he brought his attention to the creature and asked, “ Is there something wrong, Sky’s Loftwing?”

The veteran scoffed. Him and Hyrule may be from the same timeline, but they could act so different at times. 

After a few tantalizing seconds, the bird simply chirped back and started to tug excitedly at the sleeves of Legend’s tunic.

“Ugh, I knew it! This thing just wants to play!” He groaned out, and now that he knew the real reason behind the Loftwing’s frenzied actions, he spared no mercy in trying to push the creature back. However, shove and jab all that he might, but Sky’s companion was still a powerful creature with tons of raw strength on its own, while his opponent was nothing but a Hylian that relied heavily on magic. 

But that Hylian was in luck, because while a majority of Legend was off fighting against a bird twice his size, one of his hands was busy scrambling across the floor, looking for an item that he  _ knew  _ would make him the victor in this losing battle.

Come on, he knew it was here _ \- aha _ !

He shoved his hand into his item bag closer and took out the first thing that he was able to grasp. His Ice Rod!  _ Perfect _ !

With a simple swipe of his weapon, four ice blocks were summoned and shattered across the room’s walls with a few  _ thuds _ . The feathered intruder squawked and reared his head back in surprise, and while the opportunity was still at hand, the Hero of Legend rushed over to the opened window and shut it closed; then, after a quick moment of thought, swiped his Ice Rod across the sill in order to trap the opening in an ice block.

He stepped back and huffed out a breath.  _ That should be enough to keep that thing away _ . The veteran stood back with bated breath, confident that his trick was sure to work, but knew that the goddess had a way of crushing his dreams just for fun; but as one second became ten, and ten seconds became sixty, he felt his shoulders gradually relax with the knowledge that he had won, and that he could now resume his peaceful dream in the lull of ocean waves with no red oversized Cucco to be found.

“Finally, that stupid bird is  _ gone _ .”

But his hopes were dashed when a sudden incessant pecking began on the other side of the walls, specifically over the headboard of his bed. He dropped his head into his hands and nearly sobbed.

That’s it, he couldn’t do this anymore; he lost. 

With a low hang of his head and a pathetic shuffling of feet, Legend dragged himself back to his bed and tugged a pillow over his head, trying vainly to block out a sound that couldn’t be stopped. 

Hyrule could only nervously laugh at his predecessor’s predicament. 

▲  
\---▲ ▲---

It seemed to be a perfect morning for Warriors today.

He had gotten up at his usual time, feeling well - rested despite arriving on Skyloft at midnight, and was able to have the men’s restroom all to himself. He was intent on freshening up his appearance just for the sake of his walk down to the center of the island. He hadn’t gotten a chance to properly explore the place since the first time they arrived in Sky’s era: for the most part, the group usually ended up in an area that the Skyloftian would call ‘the Surface’, and despite how ominous it seemed at first, Warriors had come to learn that it was just any part of Hyrule that was not floating on an island millions of miles in the air. 

Although now that he thought about it, it would make sense for the people of Skyloft to give the land beneath them such a foreboding name: it would be enough to deter adventurous Hylians from jumping off the island just for the sake of their curiosity, and with tales passed down about the Goddess giving the Skyloftians guardian birds to protect them, one cannot help but fear that there’s danger lurking just beyond the clouds, demons ready to slay any person that steps into their territory.

Warriors chuckled. He supposed Legend calling the Hero of Skies ‘Birdbrain’ every now and then was starting to make sense.

He paused when his hand grabbed for his hairbrush but only met dead air instead. The captain pursed his lips. That’s funny, he could have  _ sworn  _ he took his hairbrush out of his item bag already.

Oh well, no matter. He would just simply open his item bag and get - …

… which was also gone.

Alright, there’s no way that could’ve happened. He definitely brought all his things into the men’s restroom as soon as he walked in, all safely stored in the item pouch that hung securely across his belt. The belt was neatly folded on his tunic so - he ducked beneath the counter to look into one of its many cabinets - it has to be there with his other clothing, right? 

He startled at the sound of a caw and accidentally banged his head on the top of the cabinet.

He rubbed a careful hand across the bump that he was sure was starting to form.  _ Damn, that’s going to hurt for the rest of the day _ .

“Ah, Sky’s Loftwing,” He greeted the bird with a pleasant smile. “ It’s a pleasure to see you so early in the morning.”

The creature amiably chirped back. 

With a swift nod to his friend’s companion, the captain was ready to crouch back down and begin his search anew for his missing item’s bag; well, that is until he heard a clatter of bottles beside him.

“Hey!” He called out, and the bird, which he so graciously greeted before, paused to regard him with an innocent look. Warriors nearly scoffed: as if an innocent look could make him forget that he had caught the Loftwing stealing his shampoo bottle red - handed. Without an inking of hesitance, the bird quickly pulled his head back out through the window like a gopher going back into its hole.

The Hero of Warriors scrambled over to the window frame and sharply gasped at the sight laid before him; There, on the dew - covered grass, were all the things he had recently lost: his hairbrush, his item bag, his shampoo bottle, his conditioner, his hair gel, all neatly placed in a pile. He frowned and looked to the bird curiously tilting his head at him.  _ The Loftwing had been taking his things while he wasn’t looking _ .

“You little thief.” Was all the Hylian said before pulling back and hurriedly making his way to the bathroom’s entrance. He would get his things back from outside, and once he was done with that, he would immediately go to Sky and give him an extensive lecture on how he needs to keep his Loftwing in check. He was about halfway through the door when he heard a sudden slip of fabric across wood.

“No no no no!” He cried out as he immediately reached for his blue scarf. He locked the piece of cloth in an iron grip as if it was his lifeline. With a steely gaze that could make the most disobedient of soldiers fall in line, he snarled, “ You let that go right now!”

But the Loftwing disobeyed, and if anything, only pulled harder on his end of the scarf. 

The captain gritted his teeth when he heard the creature give out a successive line of guttural caws. Was this thing  _ laughing  _ at him? Was this bird so ignorant to believe that Warriors’s scarf was just a  _ toy _ he could use to play tug - o - war with? The  _ audacity  _ of this creature to believe that such a well - trained captain of the Hyrulean Army was willing to sacrifice the thing he held most dear to his heart just for this bird’s own sick satisfaction. But as time ticked on, he could feel the very fabric slipping from his grasp, and his heart nearly lurched in his throat when he heard the telltale sign of cloth ripping.

All at once, the fight left his body and he slumped on his feet, but a large part of his very soul refused to let go of his prized scarf. Like a fish being torn from the water with a fishing rod, the upper - half of his body was pulled through the window, only stopping when the rest of him got snagged on the wooden sill. 

There he lay, completely and utterly helpless as the bird paraded around with the captain’s treasured scarf hanging loosely from its mouth like it was the spoils of a battle; and as if to make matters worse, a pair of women passing by briefly glanced at him and couldn’t help but laugh at his predicament.

Warriors thunked his head uselessly against the exterior of the Knight Academy. He would most certainly be having a long talk with Sky.

▲  
\---▲ ▲---

“Vio, how did you lose  _ a sword  _ of all things?”

Said counterpart of Four let out a frustrated sigh for the umpteenth time. Annoyed violet eyes met concerned green ones as he said, “ For the last time, Green,  _ I don’t know _ . Maybe Blue hid it somewhere or something.”

“ _ Me! _ ? I was busy working on Time’s and Twilight’s swords so why the fuck would I want to touch any of your stuff!?”

“Maybe because you like causing trouble? I don’t know, you really just do things without reason.”

“Why you little -”

Green raised his hands up in an attempt to break up the fight. “ Okay, okay, it doesn’t matter who did it. We just need to focus on finding it before someone notices that we split.” He shrugged his shoulders. “ I mean, how hard can it be to find one part of the Four Sword?”

“Well it depends on what Blue did with it.”

“Vio,  _ shut up _ ! You know I had nothing to do with this!”

“Hey guys! I think I found a clue!” Three heads turned to where they heard their red counterpart call out, and two out of the three faces scowled when they saw Red excitedly holding a bunch of red feathers in his hands.

Vio had to resist the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose. “ Red, finding feathers isn’t going to help us find my Four Sword.”

“Well what about the bird up there?”

And when three heads turned once more to the tree hanging just over their red counterpart, all three of them startled at the sight of a large bird pecking idly at Vio’s sword.

“Wait, that’s Sky’s Loftwing, right?” Green realized. Seriously, that thing was  _ huge _ ; how did they not notice it before? He shook his head and cupped his hands around his mouth as he shouted out, “ Hey, my brother needs that sword back!”

With a lift of his head, the bird regarded each of Four’s counterparts with a curious stare, the whole ordeal seeming to take long, agonizing seconds. Green furrowed his brows. What was Sky’s companion doing? Trying to process what he had said? Sizing them up? It was really just a mystery that couldn’t be solved with the four counterparts’ lack of understanding of Loftwings. 

And just as unexpected as Vaati being released from the Four Sword, the bird took off without warning, Vio’s sword firmly clutched in his claws. 

The violet version of Four gawked indignantly, and he was running after his sword before he was even able to register it. His feet pounded the ground like an angry Lynel and his whole being tensed with the knowledge that if he didn’t get his weapon back,  _ he  _ would be the one who’d have to explain to the Links why there were four different Fours. His hand reached greedily once he was within range of the bird’s claws, and in a desperate attempt, he leapt off the ground and held onto the hilt of the sword like his life depended on it. He startled when he felt a sudden grip on the back of his tunic.

“Vio, are you fucking crazy?! You could’ve just plummeted to your death right there!”

And so with Blue’s exclamation, Vio looked down, and he felt his stomach drop: there he was, feet dangling towards the fluffy clouds below him, covering a gruesome and deadly drop; the other three quarters of Four had saved him by holding onto each other and forming some ironic chain to anchor him near the ground, and he just hoped that chain would last long enough for him to retrieve his sword. Vio shouted over the wild flapping of the Loftwing caught in midair, “ I’m not letting go until I have my sword back!”

“Really?! You care more about that sword than your own  _ life _ , Vio?!”

“Why don’t we just ask the bird nicely? That could work!”

“Why are you always pulling dumbass stunts like this?!”

Maybe Blue was right on that last one, but Vio absolutely refused to just give his sword away. It was the  _ Four Sword  _ for crying out loud! The former  _ Picori Blade _ ! A gift from the Minish that he  _ swore _ he would protect no matter the circumstances, and he’d be damned if he lost a legendary sword to something so idiotic as an oversized bird. He strengthened his grip on the weapon; he wasn’t going to let go. 

And all at once, he finally felt the tension leave from his sword when the Loftwing finally let go, causing him to fall listlessly through the air - well, he would have if it wasn’t for his three other counterparts anchoring him to the solid ground of Skyloft. The pressure created by the fabric of his neck was almost enough to choke him.

“You’re really heavy, Vio,” Whined Red

“Yeah, you need to get off your lazy ass and stop talking to Shadow all the time,” Scolded Blue.

“Can we just touch our swords together and get this over with?” Sighed Green.

▲  
\---▲ ▲---

The sky was a brilliant blue this morning, and it was perfect weather for a certain champion and ranchhand to play with a certain Skyloftian’s Loftwing.

Wolfie rounded the corner and bounded across the length of the platform gracefully, causing the Crimson Loftwing to squawk in pleasant surprise and changed direction accordingly. Over the past few hours, the wolf and Loftwing had been locked in a playful combat of tag, chase, tug - or - war, and really anything else the Hero of Twilight could think of. It was a pleasant experience, and allowed the Ordonian to enjoy some much needed fun, a thing he honestly didn’t think he would miss once he left for another adventure.

Twilight led the Loftwing to a nearby tree and trotted to a stop, taking on his Hylian form once more as he approached Wild.

“Y’know this guy’s like a big ol’ dog? ‘Likes to play around and cuddle and everything!” The Ordonian explained with hands excitedly thrown in the air. As if to emphasise his point, the large bird came over and affectionately nestled into the crook of the Hylian’s neck, causing the latter to giggle.

The champion snorted and rolled his eyes. “ Only you would compare a Loftwing to a dog. Now,” He turned his attention to the swords laid neatly on the ground and tipped his head thoughtfully. “ Which one of these should I get rid of?”

As if comprehending the hero’s strife, the bird pattered over to the line of weapons, grabbed onto a Windcleaver, and tossed it towards one of the landing platforms. The piece of metal clattered uselessly against the wood before inevitably falling off Skyloft.

Wild pursed his lips at the events before shrugging nonchalantly. “ Well I guess that settles things.” 

Twilight scratched at a spot under the Loftwing’s neck and frowned, “As much fun as Red is, he can be really vicious at times: like just this morning, I nearly got a claw to the chest when the guy was trying to get some food off my plate.” 

“But a lot of animals work the same way, right? They like to mess around and play and stuff like that but when things get exciting, they tend to go a little overboard. Plus you said it yourself: Red’s just a ‘big ol’ dog’, so it’ll only make sense for him to act like one, too.” Judging by the deadpan look he received, Twilight probably wasn’t very amused with Wild’s mockery of his accent.

“Sure, but there’s a fine line between playing and actually hurting someone. I mean, me and the bird were just messing around a couple of minutes ago but he nearly took my head off when he was switching directions; he could’ve really hurt me if I wasn’t so used to dodging swords and clubs all the time.” The ranchhand casted a worrying gaze towards the Knight Academy. “ I just hope Sky’s not the one to let Red do whatever he wants.”

The champion rose to his feet and stretched. “ I’m sure it’s fine: Sky might be a softy and all, but he knows when to put his foot down when he needs to.”

The Loftwing immediately perked up at the sight of Wild moving and quickly scurried over to give the Hylian a playful jab. The latter grimaced and pushed against the bird’s beak.

“Sorry, Red, but I got some things to do. Maybe we can play later.”

But the bird simply ignored his words and jabbed him again, this time more forcefully.

“Seriously, quit it.” He swatted harmlessly towards the bird. “ I need to go shopping for a new shield.”

And Twilight also stepped in and goaded at the Loftwing with a bright smile, “ C’mon, Red, let’s go play chase again!” As if to illustrate his point, he shifted back into his Twili form and wagged his tail; but his attempt was futile, because the Loftwing was still insisting that  _ Wild  _ should play with him.

Finally, after the ninth refusal, Red had had enough. Without warning, the Loftwing had spread his great wings and took to the sky, all the while locking the Hero of Wilds in his tight grip. The moment was nearly imperceptible, but Twilight was able to catch a brief glimpse of his charge’s surprised face, and that in itself made Twilight terrified. 

The wolf immediately bounded from the scene. He disregarded the frightened cries he received from the numerous Skyloftians he passed, and he did his best to keep sight of his charge and his friend’s companion; but their forms were but a speck in the sky, and unlike the Loftwing, he only had so much land to run on. 

Hylia, what should he do?! The Loftwing’s soaring through the sky, travelling at a speed ten times faster than him, and he’s stuck on a measly island that’s barely bigger than Ordon Village! He supposed he could just use his Gale Boomer to knock the bird off course, but that would mean putting both the Loftwing’s _and_ Wild’s lives in danger, and that’s the last thing he wanted to do; he hated to think of how quickly their bodies would plummet to the ground if the Guardian Bird couldn’t recover in time. Maybe he could ask one of the Skyloftians to retrieve his charge? Sky did briefly mention something about there being guards here of some sort. But Twilight didn’t have time for that! He had the instinctual feeling that if he took his eyes off his friends for even a second, they would surely disappear from his life forever. He mentally knocked a palm against his head. C’mon, Twilight, _think_!

He nearly toppled over when he came to an abrupt stop. His eyes squinted at a small figure gliding through the sky. Was that …? 

_ It was _ ! There was the former champion, drifting listlessly with his Paraglider like a leaf in a gentle breeze. He was back on the ground in a matter of minutes, and Twilight wasted no time in shifting forms and pulling his protege into a hug. 

He was sure Wild was calling him a mother hen by now. 

The Hero of Twilight pulled back after a few seconds and scolded his protege, “ Do you know how dangerous that was?! You could’ve been thrown off into the sky! You could’ve plummeted to your death in a matter of a minute! What would I even tell the Old Man?!”

“Um, that it’s not my fault?”

“It’s not your - !” He paused. 

Wait, it wasn’t Wild’s fault. It was Sky’s Loftwing that had taken his friend into the sky without prompt, all for the sake of wanting to play with him. Wow - he raised his brows - Wild actually didn’t do anything wrong this time.

He supposed he needed to talk to Sky later.

▲  
\---▲ ▲---

“Do you think I should tell Aryll about the Gerudo people we met in Wild’s Hyrule?”

“Of course.”

“And tell her about the giant Molduga we fought?”

“I don’t see why not.”

“Are you gonna tell Malon about the same things?”

“Hmm...” Time thoughtfully tapped his quill against the paper, “ I’m not sure; I have a few other things I want to tell her about first.”

There were a lot of things the Hero of Time wanted to tell his wife: what the different Hyrules were like, how the boys were doing, what new things he’s seen - anything interesting, really. He would just need to choose topics that wouldn’t bore Malon - he knew how quickly disinterested she got when it came to anything regarding the royal families and the surrounding civics. She really was just a simple farmer who wanted to live a peaceful life.

Time pressed his lips together. Maybe he should get her a Loftwing statuette like the one he’d seen on Sky’s bookshelf. They really weren’t the type of couple to give each other cheesy gifts like that but now that he considered it, he should be doing a little more personal shopping. It would really be a shame if his adventure ended and he had nothing to remember the other Links by. 

He was pulled out of his thoughts when a piece of paper was nearly shoved into his face.

“Do you think this looks okay?” The sailor said, pointing to a crudely drawn Molduga in the bottom - right corner of the sheet. “ I don’t think I got the color right but it does look like the same thing we saw a couple days ago, right?”

Yes, the color was a bit off and the size of the creature’s jaw was too small and the spines were barely protruding out of its back but Time wouldn’t dare tell any of that to the young boy.

“It looks great.” He warmly smiled, and he felt his heart lighten at seeing Wind beam.

It had become a weekly tradition for Time and Wind to sit together and write letters to their loved ones. It wasn’t unusual to find the two staying up well into the night with a quill in hand and paper on table, or find them chasing down the postman so that he could somehow move through eras and deliver their letters. It was such a small little hobby they had, but they both loved it immensely and had formed a strong bond because of it.

The sound of a distant ‘caw’ drew both of their attention to the sky, and Time could’ve sworn that Wind’s eyes shone with a brilliance that rivaled that of the sun’s. The Crimson Loftwing’s shape was barely distinguishable from their spot, but it seemed to excite the young sailor all the same.

“Woah! I  _ definitely _ gotta draw Aryll a picture of that!” And so the young hero did, immediately producing a red crayon from his bag and beginning to draw the basic outline of the creature.

But Time’s gaze still remained locked on the creature, good eye struggling to track it due to the speed the thing was travelling at. Wait, was that Loftwing …?

He didn’t even get a chance to brace himself when the aforementioned creature suddenly blew past them in a haste, leaving a massive gust of wind in its wake ... and along with that gust of wind went all of their papers. The old man didn’t think him and Wind could stand up any faster.

“Ah! My letters!” Was all the sailor said before he took off in a mad sprint, his speed probably on par with Wolfie’s. Time was already along with him before he was even able to register it.

The two heroes weaved their way through Skyloft as they chased the papers down like a pack of hungry wolves. They winded their way through dirt paths and tall buildings, and only Time was courteous enough to mutter out a quick apology to those poor citizens they had nearly bumped heads with. Their chase seemed futile: the neverending breeze on the island seemed to drag their papers further and further away like leaves caught in a strong gust of wind, and it was only a matter of time until the letters were caught in a downdraft and sent spiraling towards the clouds. The chances of Time and Wind getting their letters back were close to zero. 

The Hero of Time nearly toppled over his younger counterpart when the latter suddenly stopped.

“Wait a sec, I can control the wind.”

Time nearly slammed his head against the nearest building. Wind was the Hero of  _ Winds _ ; of course he could control the wind! Why didn’t he bother to think of that?!

After a quick search of his bag, the sailor pulled out his Wind Waker and began to conduct a soothing tune, smiling easily as the direction of the winds started to change. One by one, their letters came floating down to their feet, and before they knew it, weeks’ worth of stories and tales and information were back safely in their grasp.

Time blew out a breath of relief, “ Thank you, Sailor.” 

Well, at least their chase was finally over; now it was just a matter of figuring out whose letter was whose. The two gently sat themselves on the ground and began to read each paper’s contents.

“This one says ‘ Dear Malon’ on the top so it’s yours!”

“This one has your sister’s name towards the bottom, so I’ll put it here.”

“There’s something about horses and cows on this one, so I think it belongs to you!”

“And this one’s about palm trees and oceans, so I believe this one is yours.”

“Here’s one about when we were back in my Hyrule!” But then Wind suddenly frowned as he reread the letter. He did his best to suppress his laughter when he said, “ Wait, you don’t know how to spell ‘seagull’?”

Time had to resist the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose. He really didn’t have the patience to tell him about growing up in a forest completely composed of illiterate children.

▲  
\---▲ ▲---

When Sky finally woke up, it was to eight annoyed faces looking directly at him.

“Woah, what are you guys doing up so early? It’s only -” He squinted past the window in his room, “ - noon!”

Time, taking a deep, calming breath, began in a levelled tone, “ Sky, we need to talk about -”

“We need to talk about your Goddess - damned bird!” And Legend was quick to shatter everyone’s barely - held composure. “ You know that thing woke me up at  _ seven a.m. _ ? What do I look like?! A farm boy?!”

“And he nearly ripped my scarf! That bird has no regard for prized possessions!”

“He took Wild for a joyride! An  _ unneeded  _ joyride.”

“I mean, it wasn’t  _ that  _ bad waking up at seven; sometimes I get up earlier than that but that’s only when I’m being chased down by monsters.”

“Vio almost lost his fucking sword because of that mutant Cucco!”

“Wait, what’s a ‘Vio’?”

“Did you guys know that the Old Man can’t spell ‘seagull’?”

The Hero of Skies drew his brows together at the varying complaints, “ Aw, Red really caused you guys that much trouble? I know he can be a little rough at times but he’s usually not that bad.”

And as if summoned purely by name, Sky’s Loftwing popped his head through the only window in the room and cuddled into his owner’s shoulder.

“See what I mean? He’s really friendly! Maybe he just got a little bit excited with all you guys here and wanted to play.”

But none of the other heroes listened. From terrible bedheads to torn scarves to crumpled letters, each one of the Links had their own pile of evidence proving that his Loftwing was anything but.

Between the fairies and horses and various other companions the heroes have had, Sky’s Loftwing was truly the strangest. 


	6. Fall

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Summary: One of the Links is always changing, just like the leaves in fall.
> 
> Warnings: Swearing

This forest was unlike anything the group had ever encountered before. Tall Aspen trees towered over them and created a mosaic of red, orange, and yellow up in the treetops, and a small stream trickled peacefully by small river rocks. The dirt ground beneath them was laden with hoof tracks and piles of leaves, with no indication that humans nor Hylians have ever stepped foot in this very forest. The place was wild, breathtaking, and absolutely beautiful in all its untamed might.

“It appears that we’re stuck in between eras.” The Hero of Time had concluded. The group discussion they had had a little while ago turned out to be inconclusive, with their best guess being a time between Twilight’s and Wild’s eras - but even that claim was a bit shaky.

Sky stepped forward and curiously looked at the trees around him. “ We haven’t seen any monsters here yet,” He turned back and regarded the other heroes with pinched brows, “ So do you guys think we’re in a time where Ganon doesn’t exist?”

“We very well could be.” Warriors chimed in.

The heroes had broken out into another murmured discussion about the matter, each one of them trying to figure out why exactly the Goddess would send them to a timeline with no destruction and no one to save. Among those several heroes was Four, eyes distant as his four personalities argued in his head.

_ C’mon, Blue, it’ll be fun! _

_ Red, I’m not going to act like a five year - old and jump into a pile of leaves. _

_ Awww, please? They’re so colorful and pretty and they make a cool crunch sound when you step on them! And this might be our only chance to relax and have some fun! Plus you heard Sky: there are no monsters here so we don’t have to worry about getting attacked or anything! _

_ One, that’s not what Sky said; Sky said that we haven’t  _ seen  _ any monsters yet, meaning that there could very well be monsters, but just hidden. Two, how do you think the others would react? They’ll most likely treat us like little kids after, and I don’t want to be teased all the time like Wind. _

_ But Vioooo, it’s just a little pile of leaves. Maybe everyone else will join when they see us jump in first!  _ The corner of Four’s lips twitched.

_ Guys, Warriors is talking to us. _

The Hero of the Four Sword was startled back into reality, and nearly shrunk under the captain’s expectant gaze. Struggling to find his voice, he stuttered out a quick, “ H - huh?”

“I asked you what you thought about the situation.” The Hero of Warriors frowned. Then with a placement of hands on hips and a raised brow, the man questioned, “ Were you even listening to a thing I’ve been saying?”

“Oh, um ...” The silence between them was palpable, and no matter how much of four’s personalities tried to rack their brains for the captain’s recent words, all they could think about was Red’s excitable personality bubbling to the surface. Green could feel himself quickly becoming suppressed under his red counterpart’s desire to let loose and have some fun, and he could feel his gaze flickering more and more to the piles of leaves rather than Warriors’s face. Three - quarters of him begged Red not to give in to his impulsivity, but they were fighting a losing battle, and Red was clearly the victor.

Four was pushing past Warriors before he even knew it.

Seven curious faces and an offended Warriors watched as their smallest hero leapt into the pile of foliage, giggling and smiling as colorful leaves fluttered around him like winter’s snow. His face was alight with newfound joy as he mindlessly tossed red, orange, and yellow leaves into the air, and for once, he felt like just another child enjoying a crisp autumn day. He idly wondered how long it had been since he was last able to be his exuberant self - to just abandon his duty as a knight and enjoy the small joys in life. He abruptly froze.

_ Red! What did you do? Everyone’s staring! _

_ Oh my Goddesses, they’re never gonna let us live this down. _

_ If we have to explain ourselves, _ you’re  _ the one who’ll have to do it. _

Red looked to the remaining heroes with tears in his eyes. Oh man, what’s he going to say?

He startled when a rush of blue and blonde jumped into the pile of leaves next to him.

“Woohoo!” Wind shouted when he popped his head out the pile, leaves and twigs tangled into his hair. He looked to the Hero of the Four Sword and beamed, “ That was really fun! Let’s do that again, Four!”

And the Hero of the Four Sword glowed, his red eyes bright with elation.

Not long after, Wild, Hyrule, and a newly - transformed Wolfie had joined in, each one of them caught in a fit of giggles and whoops as they hopped from leaf pile to leaf pile. It appeared that the heroes' concern about being dropped into an unfamiliar Hyrule had slowly dribbled away, giving way to amusement as they watched the five heroes let loose and enjoy themselves. With a warm smile, Time decided,

“I guess we’ll be staying here for the night.”

Dusk had quickly approached soon after, causing fading rays of sunlight to shine weakly through the trees. The Hero of Twilight and the Hero of the Four Sword walked purposefully through the forest, the former remaining in his Twili form as the two scoured the area for food.

The smaller of the two heroes took out his makeshift - shopping list Wild had given him, and scanned it over for the umpteenth time.

_ Well we have the mushrooms and apples the cook asked for, so we’re really just missing the honey. _

_ We  _ know _ , Vio. Can you just stop looking over that thing every five seconds? It’s starting to piss me off. _

Wolfie questioningly looked back as he heard the paper crumple in the other’s hands, but Four simply ignored him.

_ Blue, it’s okay! I’m sure Vio’s doing his best! Plus it’s hard for us to remember things, right? So it’s okay for him to check back every once in a while. _

_ Sure, but every five fucking seconds? None of us have memory issues  _ that  _ bad; Vio’s either messing with us or actually has amnesia like Wild.  _

_ Hey, look! _

Red, Blue, and Vio all looked to where Green mentally motioned. There it was: their last ingredient was hanging on a high branch just above them, the bee’s nest swinging idly in the cool breeze.

“It’s really high up,” Twilight pursed his lips, his form now that of a Hylian’s. “ Maybe I can grab it with my Clawshot.” He was just about to search for his aforementioned tool when a sudden snort caught his attention.

“Really, Wolfboy? You need something like  _ that  _ to get a little bee’s nest? I can get that with my bow and arrow in one shot, no doubt.”

The Hero of Twilight looked over the other with obvious skepticism. “ Blue eyes, huh? So I guess Blue’s the one doing the talking.” Then with a taunting smirk, he asked, “ Hmph, up for a little challenge?”

_ Blue, just please say no. _

“You bet your furry ass I am!”

Green mentally facepalmed.

“Then it’s settled,” Twilight said, taking out an orange Rupee and waving it around. “ First one to get the beehive gets 100 Rupees.”

_ 100 Rupees _ ? Blue gawked,  _ that was going to be an easy win _ ! With Vio’s precision and Green’s coordination, the four of them were  _ guaranteed  _ to win! Blue reached down to his bag to find his Bow, but paused when he felt that something was off. With a slow glance down, he was slightly horrified to find that his tunic was completely blue.

He quickly swivelled on his heels and frowned to see his three counterparts smiling right back at him. “Hey, seriously?! You guys are quitting on me just like that?!”

“Well you’re the one that wanted to challenge Twilight, not us.” Vio shrugged. “ So if you want to win, then do it fairly.”

“Yeah,” Red chimed in. “ I wanna see you win!”

Blue gritted his teeth. Really? His three other counterparts were bailing on him just because of something so stupid as _playing_ _fair_? They were all part of the same person, for Hylia’s sake; using each one of their abilities was totally fair! He shrunk when he felt Twilight’s shadow looming over him.

“Well, Blue?” His eyes darted over to the Ordonian’s smirk. “ Is our competition still on? Or do you just wanna hand me my 100 Rupees now?”

There was a moment of hesitance from Four’s blue counterpart until he finally shouted back, “ You’re on, Furball!”

The two heroes each positioned themselves on either side of the tree, bows readily aimed at their unsuspecting prize. Blue did his best not to tremble under the pressure, but after taking a glance at the cool, calm, and collected Ordonian standing right across from him, he couldn’t help but feel his confidence wane like a dying fire. 

“Ready ...” Green drawled from a distance, hand raised readily in the air.

Blue took a steadying breath. He could do this; just one little hit at the bee’s nest’s stem and those 100 Rupees were as good as his.

“Go!”

The call caused two arrows to fly simultaneously through the air like a quick gust of wind, both projectiles aimed at the same target. They both sliced through the air at an amazing speed but just as Blue had feared, Twilight’s arrow had reached the nest first, easily nicking the stem and sending the hive falling towards the ground.

But Blue wasn’t done yet. He may have lost the battle, but he’ll win the war.

Four’s blue counterpart broke into a sprint almost immediately after, arms strewn out in an attempt to catch the nest. He had successfully caught it when it was just a hair’s breadth away from hitting the ground, and he couldn’t help but cheer out in victory; but he had poorly miscalculated his win, because the next thing he knew, his degree of momentum had sent him tumbling towards the ground with a roll, and the steep decline of the hill only seemed to spur him on. He eventually ended up in a nearby stream not long after, with arms raised above his head in order to avoid the beehive from getting wet while the rest of him was currently drowning underwater. When he was finally able to gain his bearings, he sat up and looked to his three counterparts and the Ordonian looking back at him from the top of the hill, Vio and Twilight doing their best to hold in their laughter while Red and Green didn’t even bother.

Wild was cooking later that night, the smell of Glazed Mushrooms and Honeyed Apples wafting through the air in a tantalizing manner. Four sat blissfully next to the small campfire, and watched quietly as the group’s resident cook stirred the pot once again.

The Hero of Wilds pursed his lips as he said, “I honestly thought there would be more honey in that hive, but since we’re in a weird sorta Hyrule - limbo, I guess it would make sense if everything was a little bit off.”

_ Yes, Blue, it  _ i s _ weird that there wasn’t much honey in there. _

Blue’s sudden flare of anger caused Four’s jaw to stiffen.

_ Y’know what, Vio? How about  _ you  _ go get the honey next time? I can sit there and supervise you while you do it and after you’re done drowning in a river, I can go over and laugh at you.  _

_ It’s your fault for challenging Twilight like that; you knew he would win. _

_ Hey, doesn’t that smell like dad’s cooking? _

The four of them sharpened their focus to the warm smell that was coming from the pot, and each one of them hummed in agreement.

_ Yeah, you’re kinda right, Red. _

_ I wonder what he’s up to, him being the head knight and all. _

_ Oooo, you think he’s drinking hot chocolate right now? I bet that vendor in Castletown is already selling some! _

_ Idiot, he’s probably working his ass off protecting the castle! He doesn’t have time for stupid stuff like that! _

“I miss him.”

Every personality within Four inwardly gasped at Green’s sudden words, and none of them missed the confused side - glance Wild gave them.

The cook’s brows pinched together as he said, “ You missing someone?”

“I, uh -” Green, who was now forcibly shoved to the front to deal with their situation, racked his brain for a way to explain himself; but when none came, he eventually settled on a wistful sigh and said, “ Yeah, I just miss my dad.”

“Oh yeah? What’s he up to now?”

“Well, he’s the head knight in my Hyrule, so he’s probably off protecting Zelda and stuff like that.” A nostalgic smile crossed his lips. “ When I was a little kid, my dad always used to make me fresh - cooked eggs and honeyed fruit for breakfast, and just before he headed out, he would always tell me how much he loved me even when I was a little brat, and I would always give him the biggest hug back. It’s been awhile since I’ve last seen him, but I know he misses me a lot, and he’s eagerly waiting for the day I come back home.” He nonchalantly shrugged. “ I guess you’re cooking just reminded me of him.”

Green sucked in a sharp breath through his teeth. What was he  _ thinking  _ telling Wild of all people about his family?! He knew the Hero of Wilds’s was very sensitive about the matter, and for Green to just go on and practically brag about how his family was still alive and well? What an idiot!

But to Four’s pleasant surprise, the cook simply answered back with a longing smile. “ I got a few people I’ve been missing, too: my Zelda, Impa, Sidon - I know they’re all their wits end trying to figure out where the hell I went, so hopefully we’ll be able to stop by my Hyrule soon and I could explain to them what’s going on.” He propped a cheek on one of his hands and wondered aloud, “ I wonder if we could visit Sidon first. It’s been a while since I’ve last seen him and I did promise him that we’d go swimming at Palmorae Beach soon.” 

Green smiled. At least they all had someone to go home to.

The full moon casted a beautiful light across their camp tonight, and the peaceful and quiet atmosphere seemed to compel the heroes into talking about their adventures again.

“Okay, but did you  _ really  _ fight the moon?”

“Perhaps, but that’s for me to know and for you to find out.”

“Jeeze, Old Man, you’re such a tease.”

The camp seemed alight with cheer and good banter, but one of the Links was quiet, plate in hand and eyes glued onto his shadow.

_ Warriors. Sleep. Snore. _

Vio’s eyes lit up with mundane amusement. He had figured out what his shadow was trying to say: Warriors was caught snoring one night, and to be honest, it was pretty hilarious to watch in Shadow’s opinion.

Out of the four personalities that resided in Four’s body, Vio had become the best at deciphering what Shadow was trying to say, and that was pretty impressive considering the latter had to use some modified form of sign language so the four of them could actually  _ see  _ the signs he was trying to make. Having your shadow hold a hand in front of its own body did make it impossible to pull any kind of meaning from it, after all.

“Your shadow: it’s facing the wrong direction.”

Red, Blue, and Green all startled at the Hero of Time’s sudden observation, but Vio was good at keeping up appearances in tense situations. With a flash of disinterested violet eyes, he glanced to Time and explained in a hush voice, “ It’s a side effect of the Four Sword; the magic held by it seemed to change everything about us.”

The leader of the group regarded him for a few more tense seconds before tiredly sighing, “ Ah, the things you poor boys went through. If I could’ve prevented any of your adventures from ever happening, I would.” And with that being said, Time turned back to the rest of the Links, an amused smile on his lips as he watched their antics. 

_ Hylia, Vio, you just saved all of our asses. _

_ Yeah, did you see that scary look Time was giving us?! I almost couldn’t breathe for a second! _

_ Do you think he’ll just let us live this down? Like do you think he’ll ever bring this up again? _

_ Thank you. Vio. _

Vio smiled at Shadow’s gratitude. He had saved all of his counterparts from a terrible interrogation and from a chance of being casted away from the group just because he was technically some derivative of a Dark Link. 

A sigh blew through his nose.

Sure, Shadow may have been an enemy hellbent on killing every single one of Four’s personalities before but he had changed, coming to the realisation that Vaati’s wish to plunge all of Hyrule into darkness was beyond cruel, and he had taken to sacrificing himself all for the sake of making sure that Red, Blue, Green, and Vio were able to save the kingdom in time. Shadow was on their side - every one of Four’s counterparts were sure of it - but the rest of the Links wouldn’t understand.

But things change, just like the leaves in fall, and just like Four’s personalities.


	7. Graveyard

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Summary: A few Links have something in common, and wonder why that is.
> 
> Warnings: Mentions of death but nothing too graphic

It was cold and rainy when the Links arrived in Legend’s Hyrule. It was good that they ended up so close to the castle, because a majority of them were unsure if they could go another half - day’s trip to the nearest inn with how exhausted they were. As soon as the castle guards caught sight of their resident hero, the group was immediately led inside with open arms and welcoming smiles, and had no qualms about bringing the Links to this Hyrule’s Zelda.

A full - course meal was a nice surprise for them. After they had gotten the chance to check in with the princess, the staff had eagerly ushered them into the royal dining room where every food known to man stood freshly prepared on the table, the warmth radiating from the meals almost palpable in the air. The afternoon was spent with light banter and hums of satisfaction as the heroes easily chatted with each other, enjoying the taste of real food and simply being grateful that they didn’t have to spend another night sleeping in a monster - infested forest. Soon late noon had turned into early evening, and the heroes took to doing whatever they wanted to do: from writing letters to reading books to whittling to sleeping, all the Links were busy doing something.

“Hey, you see that?”

Twilight stopped in his tracks and directed curious eyes towards Wild’s direction, following the latter’s gaze to where a castle window stood. He squinted past the clear panes to get a better look at what his protege was so interested in, and finally drew his brows together when he caught sight of a lone figure sitting in the heavy rain. 

He leaned forward as he noted, “ Red tunic, blond hair … that’s Legend, isn’t it? What’s he doing out there?”

The clack of heels didn’t become evident until they were just a few steps away from the two heroes, and both of them turned just in time to catch Fable, Legend’s Zelda, looking through the window alongside them.

She scrunched up her eyes as she searched around outside, and when she finally found the person of interest, her lips pressed into a thin line.

“It’s that day already, huh,” She murmured as she drew back. “ Felt like it’d only been yesterday since he last did this.”

The two others were quiet for a second, before Twilight hesitantly spoke up.

“If you don’t mind me asking, Princess, but I’d like to know why Link is outside on a day like this.”

“That’s none of your concern, now is it?”

The both of them were taken aback by the sharp words, but her tone held no bite. She appeared solemn and serious, not a single bit of her boisterous and mischievous personality to be found.

She soon continued her steady pace down the halls again, eyes trained carefully ahead as if the harsh rain outside did nothing to faze her; but before she was able to round the corner, she paused and quietly said,

“Link is at the Royal Graveyard, mourning someone he had lost two years ago.”

Her words were weighty, and they were enough to make Twilight and Wild feel like a wave had crashed down on them. They were at a loss for words, and neither of them made any move to pry more information from the princess or even bother to stop her from disappearing from view; the two simply stood there in stunned silence, acutely aware of the little rain droplets that dribbled down the window.

It was Wild who finally broke the silence when he said, “ I’m gonna go talk to him.”

“Wait, seriously? Don’t you think he could use a little alone time? He’s usually really keen about settling things on his own, especially when it comes to people.”

“I know that but I...” The Hero of Wilds bit his lip for a moment as he glanced between his mentor and the window. “ … but I just have a feeling. Listen, I’ll hang out there for a sec, and if he really wants to be left alone, then I’ll leave, okay? Promise.”

Twilight opened his mouth to say something but thought better of it. If there was anyone that could deal with mourning and loss in the group, it was Wild, and if his instincts told him to go to Legend, Twilight wouldn’t even second - guess it. He held his breath as he watched his protege’s retreating form, hoping with all his heart that his cub was right on this one.

It didn’t take long for Wild to find the graveyard - just a left, a right, another quick left, down the stairs and he was there, the rain’s cold chill already beginning to settle in his bones. He carefully made his way through the neatly lined graves, and didn’t stop until he found Legend silently kneeling in front of a particular stone.

The Hero of Legend looked worse for wear: his blond hair was pasted haphazardly to his face and neck, and his red tunic was soaked with the rain from above and the mud from below. He looked weary from where he stood, and his shoulders were hunched forward as if the weight of the world were pressing down on them, forcing him back to the ground whenever he had an inkling of hope that he might be able to stand up and walk away. 

This was a different Legend, Wild frowned, not the gruff and testy teen they all knew and loved, but rather a young boy who had seen one too many destroyed towns, fought one too many battles, and saw one too many people die because of him. The Hero of Wilds felt his heart break at the sight.

“Go away.”

That was Legend’s voice, but his tone was low and raspy, holding none of its usual fire. Despite the other’s command, the champion tightened the grip on his cloak and took a step forward.

“Legend, you shouldn’t be alone here.”

“I want to.”

“You say that but you don’t mean it.”

“I do.”

“Look, I know what you’re going thro -”

“Hylia, Wild, just take the hint and leave!”

The outburst was enough to shut Wild up, and prevented him from taking another step. He stood quietly as he watched Legend’s head dip lower, and he had to strain his hearing in order to hear the other murmur out,

“Please, just leave.”

He could’ve sworn that it started to rain harder, like Hylia herself was crying for Legend’s loss. The graveyard became enveloped in a misty fog, and any semblance of the evening moon was covered up by gray clouds that refused to leave. The Hero of Wilds stood still for a few seconds before eventually settling himself on the muddy ground, just a row away from where Legend’s loved one resided. With a steadying breath, he began,

“I used to have a lot of friends and family, y’know. According to Zelda, I used to be one of the most loved soldiers in all of Hyrule, and the pride and joy of my family. I lived with my mom and dad and sister in a little house in Hateno, and the people there told me that I used to spend the whole day playing with the village kids until the sun setted. My dad was a knight, and the whole reason I was even discovered to be Hylia’s Chosen was because one of the visiting soldiers saw that I could wield a sword at the age of five. It’s kinda weird, right? Having a bunch of old guys watch a little kid wave a sword around.”

Wild looked up to see if his attempt at humor had worked, but Legend remained as still and silent as before.

“And Zelda said I was thrown into the army by the next night. She said she remembered me following my dad around like a lost puppy, and I barely talked to anyone, even when they were asking questions directly to me. I made friends with Mipha and Daruk really quick, and then Zelda and Urbosa and Revali; I wouldn’t talk to them no matter what, but Zelda said Daruk and Revali were doing most of the talking anyway, so it didn’t really matter. I would spend the whole day training instead of playing, and she said I almost never went home because Rhoam forced me to stay so I could protect the castle and the royal family. My dad went home to my mom and sister, and Mipha, Daruk, Urbosa, and Revali all went home to their families, and I was the only one left.”

“I was alone, and Zelda started to hate me because of how annoying I was. Soon everyone started to hate me because of how much Rhoam loved me, and I couldn’t do a single thing about it. I was told that since I was a hero chosen by the Goddess, I had to do whatever the kingdom wanted me to do, and whatever I thought didn’t matter; it was always protect Zelda and do whatever the king asked. I missed out on a lot: my childhood, my friends, my family, all because I was supposed to be some legendary hero.” He choked out a watery laugh. “ Now I can’t even remember any of that: I can’t remember my mom’s or my dad’s or my sister’s faces, I can’t remember how the soldiers used to treat me before they started to hate me, I can’t remember the places Mipha, Daruk, Urbosa, Revali, and Zelda used to take me - I can’t remember anything. I’m just some former champion that was nearly killed by the Calamity 100 years ago, and I have feelings that I can’t explain the reason of.” 

Wild’s throat grew tight with emotion, and he did his best not to let the sobs wrack his body. A small part of his brain reminded him that no, he shouldn’t be throwing himself a pity party, he should be comforting Legend, but he couldn’t help it. It was all so unfair: all the other Links could remember their friends and family even if they were long gone but Wild was the only one who couldn’t; all he could remember were fragments of his time under Rhoam and whatever his Zelda told him to be true. He was a blank and empty slate that could barely remember his friends and family but still held a myriad of emotions towards them. 

He wondered if he should just go on in life pretending that the last 117 years didn’t happen - that all the good and bad memories he had of his friends and families were all due to vivid fever dreams.

“My uncle died two years ago.”

The champion was caught off guard when Legend finally spoke, and although the former was barely holding it together, he did his best to listen to the other’s soft words.

“It was when I was on another adventure. I came back to the castle as soon as I was back in Hyrule, and the moment I stepped inside, I saw Zelda waiting there with my uncle’s sword and shield. She didn’t need to say a thing; by the way she looked at me, I knew what was up: my uncle was dead, stabbed by an Armos when he least expected it. She told me the death was quick, and that the soldiers travelling along with him made sure he died as comfortably as possible. They said his last words were ‘tell Link I’m proud of him’, but I don’t know if that’s what he actually said; maybe the soldiers were just trying to make me feel better.”

“I was locked up in my house for days, and no matter how many times the castle’s soldiers tried to break down my door and threaten me, I wouldn’t leave. I was depressed, and I didn’t want anything to do with Hyrule anymore. He was everything to me: he took me in when my parents were trapped in the Dark World, he taught me how to fight and wield a sword, and he gave me all the unconditional love I could ever ask for.” He tilted his head up to the sky, and Wild wasn’t sure if it was rain or tears falling from his face. “ I wonder if things would’ve changed if I was back home instead of out there adventuring - if I just became a regular soldier at Hyrule Castle instead of being a Goddess - forsaken hero.”

His frame was shaking, but his voice stayed strong and firm. “ I miss him more than anything in the world, but I don’t regret having any memories of him, and you shouldn’t regret having any memories of your friends and family either, no matter how little they are.”

It was ironic, the champion thought: here Legend and Wild were, two links in the same heroic chain, that were supposed to be selfless and loyal and a beacon of hope to the citizens of Hyrule, crying in a graveyard. They had been through their own set of adventures, faced their own trials and tribulations, but they both still had the same feelings as a citizen towards death. They were two broken kids who just wanted to enjoy a happy life.

Wild took in a shuddering breath and quietly asked, “ Do you think people die because we’re Chosen Heroes?”

Legend’s answer was short and simple, not an inking of hesitance in his voice, “ Yes.”


	8. ReDead

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Summary: The Links go searching for a missing Sheikah, but they should really be more cautious about what lies in the dark.
> 
> Warnings: Mentions of blood and violence, but if you are squeamish about either topic, I highly suggest you skip this chapter

“This is the place.”

The Links slowly came to a stop at Time’s words, and curiously looked towards the large tomb looming over them. It was one of many in the large graveyard, and it was nothing compared to the Royal Family’s Tomb that resided just a little ways away, but it still held a general air of creepiness and dread, and its qualities only seemed to be amplified by the waning moon hanging above Kakariko Village Graveyard. 

“Why would a little girl want to run in here? This place is creepy as hell.” Legend commented from the side, but his tone seemed to be leaning more towards concern rather than his usual pragmatic self.

“People do things for inexplicable reasons.” Was all the Hero of Time said before taking a step forward and pulling on the tomb’s doors. 

“Well, jeeze, Old Man; if you’re just gonna be cryptic about it, don’t bother answering.”

The nine of them ventured down the stone stairs in tense silence, with the clack of their boots being the only sound within the narrow space. There was no light, as expected, so a few of them were able to pull out their lanterns and illuminate the path for those who couldn’t; but no matter how much the glow of warm light filled their surroundings, they just couldn’t seem to get rid of the oppressing chill that filled the empty air.

They all startled at the sound of a high - pitched screech, but before any of the heroes could so much as draw their respective weapons, Time had already taken care of the threat, releasing the arrow from his Hero’s Bow in one smooth motion towards the source of the sound. He didn’t even flinch when a Keese fell in front of his feet.

He drew in a sharp breath. “ Not good.”

Turning on his heels, he regarded each of the heroes with a serious look. “ This tomb is infested with monsters, and judging by how long the girl’s been in here, I fear that she’s in grave danger, if not already dead. We’ll need to split up into pairs to find her, with one group of three; the more area we cover, the sooner we’ll be able to find her.”

An excited Hyrule looped an arm around Wild’s and eagerly proclaimed, “ Ooo I choose Wild! He’s my travelling buddy!”

“And I wanna be in a group of three with Sky and Four!” Wind chimed in next, with both his partners smiling at his enthusiasm.

“I’m going with the Old Man,” Twilight stepped forward and slid his gaze knowingly to Time. “ We’re both good at filling in each other’s weak spots.”

Legend casted a reluctant glance towards the remaining hero and rolled his eyes. “ Ugh, no one else wants to partner up with Cityboy? I’ll give you 50 Rupees if you do.”

“Excuse me, I am worth way more than 50 Rupees!” Warriors squawked from right beside him.

“I’m giving them a discount because of how annoying you are.”

" _Enough.”_ Time’s voice had boomed over all of them, and all their banter immediately came to a stop. “ We’re all on a time - sensitive mission, so I don’t need any of you acting up because you’re too childish to work together. You’re Chosen Heroes, so start acting like it.”

Then with a calming breath, he motioned to the various corridors down the room and continued, “ We’ll split ourselves among the rooms here: there’s not many, but they do branch out for quite a bit. Be on the lookout for a seven year - old Sheikah girl with white hair and red eyes, and if you see any monsters, don’t hesitate to kill them.”

The nine of them were used to killing monsters of all kinds, so the other heroes didn’t understand why a cold chill seemed to run up their spines at their leader’s words.

Wild rose a hand high into the air and spoke when Time looked to him. “ What do we do for a signal? Like how do we let the others know if we found the girl or if we’re in a lot of trouble?”

A good question, the Hero of Time thought, and then after a moment of consideration, he finally answered back, “ A whistle: one long one for if you found her and three short ones for if you’re in danger.”

With a collective nod, the groups went their separate ways, each of their steps careful and calculated as they disappeared through old and crumbling arches.

The Hero of Time and Hero of Twilight gradually made their way down the stone corridor they had chosen: a narrow one that was situated towards the back of the main room. It was cold and dark in the small passageway, and the ranchhand tried his best not to be bothered by it, but he just couldn’t help the goosebumps that prickled all over his skin. 

“Transform.”

Time’s command had caught him off guard for a second, but he quickly shook his head and assumed his Twili form. Hands and feet became paws and a thick coat of fur encased his body like a blanket, seeming to block out the stagnant cold that came through invisible vents. He lifted his muzzle into the air and perked at the scents that wafted around like the auroras in the Northern Lights.

Twilight had once explained it to his protege as following a beacon of light that couldn’t be seen. The flicker of light might be in a sea of other lights that tried to drown out its color, but with enough focus and dedication, the Ordonian could zero in on his target and keenly follow it without being overwhelmed.

A small huff of breath escaped his mouth as he lowered his head. There was Time’s scent right next him, smelling distinctly of forests and pines, and then Twilight’s own scent of pumpkins and hay, Wild’s, Hyrule’s, Legend’s, Warriors’s, Sky’s, Four’s, and Wind’s scents lingering back towards the corridor, and then an unfamiliar scent that smelled like …

With a sharp bark, he called for Time to follow him further down the corridor, all the while pursuing the scent like a lifeline. It was sharp and distinct, smelling like home - cooked meals and a rainy day's mud; if there was a universal scent for a seven year - old child, that would be the one.

As he bounded from stone to stone, he idly wondered what was going on with his mentor: it wasn’t unusual for Time to be strict and demanding at times but the way he carried himself when he spoke to the group … it just wasn’t like him. In more serious situations, he wasn’t as stern to the other heroes as he is now, and if they were lucky, he would even jab at a few of them, commenting on how scared they looked when they faced worse; but now he was more rigid and harsh towards them, not allowing any of them to go against his word.

Maybe it had something to do with being in a tomb? Or with them having to find a small child? From the brief snippets Malon had told him about Time’s childhood, Twilight knew it wasn’t good: he had lost dear friends, had to give up a peaceful life, and had been forced to sleep for seven years in order to be worthy of the Master Sword. It had been a rough adventure, but the eldest hero persevered regardless, and maybe that’s why all of them looked up to Time so much.

Twilight trotted to a stop once he reached a large room, and quickly transformed back into a Hylian.

“She’s here,” He claimed, but his brows quickly furrowed. “ but she’s … all over the place; her scent’s in every bit of this room, and there’s no definite direction I can say.”

All he received back was a grunt and a low, “ Split up and find her.”

Just before Time was about to head over to one end of the room, he paused and looked to his protege when the latter was offering him a lantern.

“It’ll help you look,” Twilight smiled, and when the elder hero offered him a questioning gaze, he shrugged and added in, “ I’ll just use my Twili form to find her.”

With a nod of thanks, the two went off in opposite directions.

The room was worse, in Twilight’s opinion: it was colder, mustier, and just seemed to hold this general air of foreboding. The limited stone tiles he could see with his wolf senses were all covered in mold and weeds, where the latter was slowly dying from the lack of sunlight in the tomb. It may have just been Twilight’s overactive imagination, but he could have sworn that he heard a few moans in different areas of the room, and his ears flicked eagerly towards each call. The sounds were inhuman, that was for sure, and he wouldn’t expect little Keese to make a noise like that, so that meant it was either the little girl they were looking for or … something else entirely.

He paused when he caught sight of a figure huddled in the corner, and nearly yipped out when he smelled the Sheikah’s scent practically surrounding their form. He eagerly transformed back into a Hylian and crouched down, intent on gaining the little girl’s trust before alerting his mentor of his discovery. 

In a delicate, soothing voice, he quietly called out, “ Hey, I’m a hero here to save you. You can call me ‘Twilight’.”

He waited patiently for an answer, but when the girl didn’t even so much as look at him, he decided to take a tentative step forward and call out again, “ Your mom and dad are worried about you, and they want you to come back home. Do you think you can follow me so I can show you the way out?”

Again, no answer, but that didn’t bother the Ordonian in the slightest: he was used to dealing with frightened children all the time, and he would wait hours if he had to if it meant Colin would peacefully fall asleep after a nightmare or if Beth would stop crying and tell him what was wrong. 

He was quiet, breathing steady breaths as his eyes stayed trained on the child, hands clasped together as his arms rested easily on crouched knees; and all at once, all hell broke loose.

The girl - no, the  _ creature _ \- suddenly turned around and regarded him with piercing red eyes, ones that made him inexplicably freeze him to his spot. He inwardly panicked as he tried to move his arms or legs or tilt his head but he couldn’t, and the only thing he even had slight control of was his hysterical breaths. The creature then reached for him with long spindly arms and knocked him back, straddling the hero as it let out a low - pitched groan.

The next thing he felt was long bony fingers raking into his chest and digging harshly into his skin. He was acutely aware of every single claw that dragged purposefully across his ribcage and the longer the process continued, the more he could feel pain burning through his body and blood bubbling to the top. He wanted to shove that thing off him, give into his Twili self and sink his fangs into that creature’s neck but he couldn’t do any of that; his body remained still and paralyzed, eyes glued to the spot where he had first locked eyes with the creature.

He was starting to become dizzy now, the ceiling above him swirling in a mix of the blacks and grays he could pick out, and he could feel his stomach roil with unease. His skin prickled at the sudden drop in temperature he felt but the slow, oozing liquid that trickled down his chest and throat seemed to provide him with a little warmth. He was shivering, he was sure of it, but the all - consuming emptiness that was slowly filling his head was starting to disconnect his thoughts in favor of soothing him in a sudden calm.

He’d felt this way before, hadn’t he? It was back on his adventure when he defeated … uh … Rusl, right? Wait, no, that was his mentor - or he thought it was his mentor. He couldn’t put a name to a face right now, or rather he couldn’t really remember anything about anyone right now. All he could think about was a dull pain echoing throughout his body, one that he couldn’t even explain the source of.

He was tired, and the uncontrollable drooping of his eyelids only confirmed his feelings. He thought he was on a mission right now, but he couldn’t recall for who, with who, or the entire purpose of the thing. A quick nap would fix him right up, so he gave into the darkness closing in on him, and let his body go lax.

The next he was aware of was a cold bottle pressed to his lips and a hushed voice soothing him.

“C’mon, Pup, have a sip.” It coaxed, and when he couldn’t do what the voice was asking, it added in a more strict tone, “ Listen, it’s going down your throat one way or another.”

And so he took a tentative sip, and recoiled when the liquid caused a fiery pain to burn down his throat. He immediately tried to turn his head away from the source but a rough hand caught his chin and forced his lips open where the cool liquid was promptly dumped into. The burning agony coursed up and down his throat unheedingly, and if he could compare this with the heat of the Goron Mines, the thing he was forced to drink was definitely hotter. He laid there for a few moments, gasping for air and writhing in agony, while a soft voice from beside him kept apologizing and mentioning that he would die if he didn’t drink it.

The pain disappeared after a few excruciating moments, and in its place came a blossom of warmth in his chest and throat. It was a welcomed feeling, and its very presence was enough to lull him to sleep, but a sharp pinch on his cheek sent him reeling back to reality.

“Not yet. The traveller’s coming and I want him to get a good look at you before you drift off.”

The traveller … that’s what they called Hyrule, right? Why would he need Hyrule of all people now?

Mustering all the energy he could, he finally pried his eyes. 

It was strange that he wasn’t waking up to morning light; it was instead to a dark spacious room, with the only source of lighting being the flickering lantern by his head. There was barely anything else he could see, and if it was, then he could only see the vague outlines of it. His gaze then settled onto his mentor sitting beside him, face pale and features taut as he watched his protege. When their eyes met, he gave a tired smile.

“You scared me back there. I should’ve known not to leave you alone.”

Alone? Why would it matter if he was alone? But when Twilight tried to ask that very question, a blazing pain shot up his throat and caused coughs to rack through his body.

“Easy, easy.” The Hero of Time placated. “ That thing ripped through a good portion of your throat and chest, so don’t expect to be talking any time soon.”

Ah, he supposed that would explain the phantom pains echoing through his entire being. When he eventually recovered, he instead settled on fixing his mentor with a steady gaze, hoping the other would get the message.

He watched as Time settled back with a sigh and let his shoulders drop. In a matter - of - fact tone, he explained, “ You were attacked by a ReDead. I don’t know the events leading up to it, but I remember hearing the clang of your sword and shield on the ground and then a low moan. I feared the worst, and I was upset to find that I was right. I killed that thing in an instant and bandaged whatever I could, hoping that the bloodloss didn’t progress too far. I managed to get you to drink a few potions, and it looks like you came to at the last bottle I had.” He gently motioned to the various empty bottles strewn about, and Twilight could determine that there were at least four of them. “ It was a bit touch - and - go there for a second, but I knew you would be alright once you started breathing again.” He closed his eyes and shook his head as he muttered out, “ Honestly, the amount of times we look death in the face is ridiculous.”

The Ordonian would’ve laughed if he could. There was that cynical and exasperated Time they all knew and loved.

But the old man’s gaze hardened, and he fixed a disapproving eye on his protege. “ You should know better than to approach a ReDead like that. They’re simple enemies that can be avoided as long as you don’t make too much noise.”

He was taken aback by the confused stare he received.

“You don’t … know what a ReDead is.”

It was more of a statement rather than a question, but Twilight nodded nonetheless. 

With a tired sigh, the Hero of Time began, “ ReDeads are zombie - like creatures that roam dark dungeons, preferably those underground. They’re mindless, but the moment they hear a sound, they’re quick to paralyze you with their gaze. They’ll jump onto your back once you’re petrified, but depending on the direction you’re facing, they might attack you from a different angle. You obviously can’t attack them when you’re paralyzed, so the moment you feel yourself regaining control of your body, you need to shake them off and avoid their eyes at all costs; then is the best moment to strike.” 

Twilight noticed the way his mentor prattled on, and a small part of him wondered how he remembered such a vivid description of an enemy. Was it because he read a manuscript somewhere detailing the enemy? Or was it that he had a mentor of his own to tell him the ins and outs of the creature? He would have to ask once they’re out of this tomb.

“Also, I thought I should let you know about this.” The elder hero grabbed a piece of pink fabric from somewhere beside him and showed it to his protege. “ It was something the ReDead was holding, and it’s also part of the dress the mother had last seen the girl wearing. If my assumption is correct, I believe she passed by here, got caught by the ReDead, and was able to escape - how, I’m not sure. Regardless, I believe that this is the reason you were even near that thing.”

The Ordonian stiffly nodded, staring at the piece of faded pink cloth. That must have been what he was smelling earlier, and his willingness to just blindly follow the scent without any hint of precaution had led him into a dangerous situation with an enemy he had never seen before. 

He shivered. He could still feel the bony fingers raking up and down his chest, and the fear enveloping his mind before it all came to a soothing calm: his body’s last - ditch effort at trying to soothe his frightened mind before an agonizing death. He was minutes if not seconds away from meeting a cruel end, and he was just lucky enough that his mentor had heard all the commotion and came when he did. He could have died back there, and the gravity of the past was starting to sink in.

He just really hoped that one of the others had found that missing Sheikah girl.


	9. Forest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summary: Nearly every one of the heroes' Hyrule is peaceful. Just nearly.
> 
> Warnings: Minor (teenager) character death, description of (teenage) character burning to death, and swearing. If any of this upsets you, please skip this chapter.

The group looked curiously at the folded pile of cloaks Hyrule was offering them.

“If we’re heading into town, then you’re gonna have to wear one of these.”

The traveller didn’t miss the baffled glances he got in return, nor did he miss the hesitance they each displayed when reaching for their own part of the share.

“Why do we need to wear a cloak? We haven’t worn one in any other part of your Hyrule.” Sky questioned as he pulled the tattered piece of cloth over his head. The aforementioned apparel hung loosely around his body, falling just low enough to reach the top of his boots.

Hyrule opened his mouth to answer, thought better of it, and then just shook his head. “ We’ll need it here, trust me. Make sure you wear the hood on the back and whatever you do, don’t take it off until we’re alone.” He then proceeded to pull the hood of his own cloak up, and the others were quick to follow suit.

They wandered into town soon after, and they could immediately feel the hostile dread in the air. The place itself was a sea of uncontrollable weeds and messy dirt pathways, with abandoned buildings and makeshift homes placed haphazardly in crooked lines. Almost all the people they saw outside regarded the group with nasty and distrustful looks, with many of them going so far as to place a hand readily on the weapon hanging from their hips; they were anticipating some sort of attack, Twilight recognised, but he didn’t understand why.

The Hero of Hyrule eventually led them towards one of the bigger buildings in the back, and the broken door he opened wailed with a high - pitched creak. It appeared to be a run - down inn, and the young traveller promptly made his way to the front desk where a middle - aged woman eyed him with scrutiny. 

“Hello, ma’am, four rooms, please.” Hyrule’s voice was soft and polite, and if he was unnerved by the woman’s gaze, he didn’t show it.

The tension in the air was nearly palpable, and the Links did their best to not let the innkeeper’s piercing gaze intimidate them. Once the woman had finally focused her attention back onto Hyrule, she questioned, “ What are you nine doing here?”

“We’re travellers, ma’am; we just came down from Darunia Town.”

“And your occupation?”

“We craft and sell instruments we make, ma’am.”

“Take off your hood.”

The group was nearly taken aback by the command, and a few of them were even ready to protest just based on the rude tone alone, but Hyrule didn’t care, and his fingers lingered at the edges of his hood for a moment before pulling it down. All of the heroes’s eyes widened at the sight before them: Hyrule’s usual brown hair had been colored a fiery orange and his eyes now shone with a light blue hue; his long and pointy ears had become rounded around the edges, making him appear more like a human and less like a Hylian. The hero looked to the woman expectantly, and after a few long seconds, she scoffed.

“20 Rupees for the rooms then.”

And so Hyrule paid, placing the gem delicately on the desk and accepting the keys. He led the group towards one of the rooms and locked the door without a word, and once he was sure that the nine of them were completely alone, he allowed his appearance to fade back to its usual self with a long, relieved sigh. He was bombarded with questions just a second later.

“Hyrule, what was  _ that _ ?”

“Seriously, what just happened?”

“Why’d you change your ears and eyes and hair, ‘Rule?”

“What’s that old lady’s problem? Why was she treating us like garbage?”

“What’s up with the people here? How come everyone’s looking at us weird?”

“Boys,  _ enough _ .” Time had finally sounded over the fray, and when the rest of the heroes finally settled down, the eldest hero turned to the traveller and politely asked, “ Hyrule, what happened back there?”

The Hero of Time could tell the question bothered the other, if the sudden bite of his lip and darting green eyes were anything to go by; but after a few tense seconds, he finally piped up with, “ We needed a few rooms, so I got us a few rooms.”

“You need to elaborate on that. Why did you change your appearance? And why did you have us all wear cloaks?”

“Oh, well that’s, um ...” He struggled for a moment, and looked nervously to the floor as if the wooden boards would give him a sound answer. He could feel eight pairs of eyes boring right into his very being, and he couldn’t help but shrink under their anticipative gazes. “ It’s just a thing we need to do to … y’know, keep a low profile.”

“But why would we need to?” Warriors questioned next, taking an assertive step forward. “ Hundreds of other heroes have passed by here without any issues, correct? So with the exception of you, there really isn’t a need to go through the trouble of hiding ourselves; to them, we’re just ordinary Hylians looking for an overnight stay.”

“I know, I know, but it’s just -”

“We found another Hero of Hyrule!”

Their interrogation was abruptly cut short as a deep voice from outside suddenly caught their attention, and eight confused faces turned to look through the sole window in the room. From what little they could see, they were able to discern a large gruff man standing in the middle of the supposed town square, shouting the same message through cupped hands over and over again as he turned in all sorts of directions; just a few paces behind him stood three men, one of which was just a young boy with floppy brown hair, easily in his teens, and tightly bound around the wrists and ankles while the other two grown men supported him under the arms. Behind them was a slightly larger group that worked together to dig a large wooden pole into the ground, while others began piling sticks and wood around the structure as if to make a bonfire.

The heroes stood still, trying desperately to wrap their heads around the scene in front of them. That man … What did he keep calling out? ‘Another Hero of Hyrule’? But that made absolutely no sense: the Links all knew of one Hero of Hyrule and that was, well, Hyrule; but the man outside kept yelling out the title like it was something more than that - like it was some kind of breed rather than just one very specific person; couple that realisation with the strange structure the townspeople were setting up and that just released a whole new set of questions: what was so special about that one person versus everyone else in this town? Why was he tied up? What were the other people creating behind him? Why was there such a strong sense of bloodlust in the air?

“I don’t know what’s going on,” Twilight finally said, being the one to break the silence. “ But I  _ do  _ know that that guy needs help.”

He was about to take a step towards the door when a sudden hand clung fiercely to his pelt, and when he turned around, he was quietly surprised to find that it wasn’t a stoic Time stopping him, but rather an alarmed Hyrule.

“Twi, you  _ can’t  _ go out there right now.”

The ranchhand knitted his brows together. “ Huh? Why not?”

“It’s -.” He held his breath for a second before continuing in a small voice, “ It’s not safe there right now.”

“Well if you’re that concerned about safety,” The two heroes watched as Legend casually walked over to them before coming to a stop by Twilight’s side. “ Then I can stick with Farmboy here. One of us can make a distraction and the other can get the guy out; shouldn’t take more than ten minutes.”

The traveller only frantically shook his head in response, fixing his predecessor with a desperate look as he quickly said, “ No, the both of you can’t go either! It still won’t be safe!”

“Alright then,” Warriors added slowly as he made his way to the Ordonian in the same fashion. “ What about the three of us, then? Surely we’re enough to save that man now.”

But Hyrule only denied the group once again; and again when Wild offered to go, and again when Four offered to go, and again and again and again. Three faces had now become eight as the remaining heroes all looked to the Hero of Hyrule with a mix of confusion and impatience, each one of them asking a myriad of questions about what was so dangerous about the situation and why Hyrule of all people was preventing any of them from going. It was Wild who finally asked the key question with, 

“‘Rule, are you hiding something?”

Those words made the traveller freeze, causing him to fall silent and fix the champion with a wide - eyed stare. It appears that the group had finally struck a chord in him, one that somehow instilled fear into their resident hero, and a few of them were starting to become worried at how quiet Hyrule had suddenly become at such a simple yet pivotal question. After what felt like hours, the traveller finally answered back:

“I’m sorry.”

Oh no.

That was all the Ordonian needed to hear before he was suddenly sprinting out of the small room and down the cramped hallway, ignoring the sudden shouts of surprise and alarm from his fellow heroes. He knew it -  _ he knew  _ from the moment he saw that young boy being dragged across the worn dirt by those men that there was something deeply wrong. He should’ve said something sooner - maybe something about how much Hyrule seemed to be dodging their questions - but he stupidly played along with this pointless game like he was some dog chasing its tail.

He just hoped he wasn’t too late to save him.

He felt the rotten wood press against his shoulder as he barged his way through the inn door and out into the cold night air, stumbling as the terrain suddenly switched from wood to dry dirt and overgrown weeds. He silently thanked the goddesses when he was steadily back on his feet in an instant and rushed towards the crowd centered around the square at a breakneck pace. He suddenly felt his stomach plummet as he heard the gruff man from before shout out:

“Death to the Hero of Hyrule!”

That was it. That was the only warning Twilight got before a torch was haphazardly thrown into the pile of wood and the flames started to climb the stake. Everything became unbearably bright, engulfed in a swirl of bright orange and blinding yellow as brown wood burned to black ash in an instant and the fire climbed higher up the pole without any bit of hesitation, right up to the poor teen who was bound to the very top. It only took mere seconds for the agonised screams to fill the air, and even less for Twilight to smell the distinct scent of burning flesh as the flames mercilessly engulfed the body. Once - pale skin turned into blistering red, and the light - brown hue of the boy’s hair started to disintegrate and leave nothing behind but a memory of what used to be there. The Ordonian’s instincts told him to get over there and do something because he was supposed to be a hero -  _ he  _ was one of the few that Hylia had chosen to protect everyone - but all he could do was watch helplessly from the back of the crowd, his stomach churning threateningly as it promised to expel everything he had eaten in the past week.

Goddesses,  _ the crowd _ . The crowd was  _ thrilled  _ at the sight of one of their own burning helplessly from where he was bound, his agonised screams appearing to be music to their ears. They watched him writhe and scream and plead to be released but they just watched him with some sort of maniacal fascination that only a true cold - blooded serial killer could have. The crowd was smiling, cheering, even echoing the same phrase of “ Death to the Hero of Hyrule!” as they watched someone burn to death, and perhaps what terrified Twilight the most was that some of the people in the crowd were  _ literal children _ , and they seemed to be entirely fine with watching someone their own age burning right in front of them.

He jumped when he felt a rough hand gently touch his shoulder, and he quickly spun on his heels to find the source, relaxing just a bit when he saw his mentor’s face staring back at him.

Time looked pale. Had he just witnessed the same thing Twilight had just a moment ago? 

“Let’s go.” His mentor said after a moment, nudging his head towards the direction that Hyrule was leading the rest of the heroes towards. Twilight wanted to protest - to firmly tell Time that “no, we need to do something” - but the only thing that came out was a shaky sigh. His whole body felt numb, and the remaining rush of adrenaline from before seemed to have sapped him of all his strength and left him with a hollow feeling in his chest, so he didn’t refuse Time’s firm grip around his wrist, and he didn’t protest as Time led him forward.

It didn’t take long for the group to reach the outer edges of the town, and it certainly didn’t take long for them to disappear into a nearby forest. They wove their way through overgrown bushes and drooping trees, and treaded through murky waters and destroyed campsites, and didn’t stop until they reached a dark and desolate clearing that was far from any type of civilization. It was quiet here, and it was a welcomed contrast from the deranged cheers that filled the small town.

Four was the first to speak up as he shakily asked, “ That … That wasn’t real, right? It was just some - some stupid trick, r - right?”

The only immediate response he received back was a heartbreaking whimper from Wind as he dug his face further into Warriors’s scarf. 

“I’m sorry.” Came Hyrule’s eventual answer, but the sound was barely above a whisper and his throat strained to keep his voice level. Any hint of anxiety or desperation from before seemed to have been completely wiped away, his tone now a clear reflection of the guilt and regret that was no doubt plaguing his mind. A few heroes opened their mouths to respond, but Legend beat them all to the punch.

“No. No, all of this is bullshit.” He claimed, anger and disbelief clear in his features. “ There’s no way in hell that a bunch of townspeople would just pick up a random kid off the street and burn him alive just for fun. He must’ve been a monster in disguise or - or a traitor that’s killed innocent people or just … just  _ something _ .” He looked to his protege for some kind of assurance, but felt his resolve start to fall apart when Hyrule refused to meet his eyes. He took a shuddering breath as he said, “‘Rule, tell me this isn’t what people are really like here. Tell me that these are just some sick fucks who get a kick out of torturing people.” His voice took on an uncharacteristically small tone as he continued, “ Tell me this isn’t what I left behind for you.”

The traveller ducked his head even lower and hunched his shoulders as he repeated even quieter than before, “ I’m really, really sorry -.”

“Hyrule, I believe you owe us an explanation.” Time cut in, but instead of the stern and demanding tone the group was expecting, they were all surprised to hear his request as a quiet and gentle one. Perhaps he did it because they were all in shock, or perhaps he did it because Hyrule looked like he was one second away from a complete breakdown, or perhaps he did it because he was just so morbidly curious and he didn’t want to scare away the resident hero by forcing the answer out of him. Regardless of the reason, it got Hyrule talking. 

“The people of my Hyrule want me dead.”

He let the air of initial shock settle for a moment before continuing.

“They’ve been hunting me down ever since they knew I was the Hero of Courage here because they all knew the legend: one drop of the hero’s blood on Ganon’s ashes will revive him. At first it was just a silly old wives’ tale that got passed down from generation to generation, but a group of villagers broke into Hyrule Castle one night and found out it was true through one of the books we have in the Royal Library. Word spread from person to person and that’s when people started to get … scared of me.” 

The traveller bit his lip for a moment, the memory of first hearing that news all those years ago playing fresh in his mind.

“They thought I was a ticking time bomb - one slipup when fighting a Moblin or a Zora and the entire kingdom was pretty much doomed - so a few people started to hunt me down in order to lock me up or something like that; they just wanted me far away from danger - a place where no monsters would be able to get me. They found me eventually and told me about their plan, but I just ignored them because Zelda was in trouble, and if I didn’t reunite the Triforce in time, then the whole kingdom would be taken over by some prince. I needed to travel across Hyrule; I couldn’t just hole myself away somewhere when the whole kingdom was in danger, so I kept going. Weeks would go by without anyone seeing me, and the number of people that feared I was dead started to grow. More groups started to form in order to find me quicker, and they started to camp out in forests and by rivers just to keep a lookout, but they kept coming back empty - handed and that just made everyone more terrified. Eventually those groups just started locking up people that looked like me just to get rid of a potential Hero of Hyrule, so that’s why I -.”

“That’s why you changed your ears, eyes, and hair with magic earlier, and why you made us wear cloaks: to throw people off our trail.” Legend interjected, and Hyrule nodded in confirmation.

“Right. They knew the Hero of Hyrule was Hylian, had green eyes, and brown hair, so they just locked up anyone who fit the bill, but they wouldn’t even look twice at a human with orange hair and blue eyes. So I was taught how to change my appearance from a magic - user I met in a cave one day, and although that kind of magic took a lot out of me at first, I eventually got a hold of it and was able to pass under everyone’s radar. I travelled from town to town, learning whatever I could from other magic - users and getting whatever I needed to survive in the wild in order to look for Ganon. But because I was so good at hiding, the people that were trying to find me were getting more desperate.”

“They were tired of locking people up and asking if they were the Hero of Hyrule or if they knew where the Hero of Hyrule was, and as more monsters started to surround the villages and kill those who dared to travel, things started to become more serious. The groups started to kill Hylians that looked like me, skipping the whole interrogation part and going straight for the quickest and painless kill they could do in order to remedy a little bit of their guilt. Of course they regretted killing innocent people; nobody wanted to kill someone that was just living their lives and had nothing to do with being Hylia’s Chosen, but they justified themselves by saying that it was either the life of one potential ‘Link’ or the entirety of the Kingdom, and of course they would want to save the kingdom. But months went by, and the monsters kept coming closer, and the real Hero of Hyrule still hadn’t been found, and those villagers got to the point where they were too scared to harvest crops or go hunting or even step outside of their houses. They felt like they were living in a nightmare, and they needed to get out there and kill me or else they would never be able to live a normal life ever again.”

“People started to come out of their houses, daggers and swords in their hands, and got to killing any ‘me’s they could find. The killings weren’t painless anymore: people who were scared of Ganon coming back to full power again started to release all their frustration and fear on innocent people by killing them in the most gruesome ways possible; it was an outlet to them, and now all that guilt from before was starting to turn into satisfaction. To them, it was just getting revenge on the Hero of Hyrule for all the pain and suffering I’ve caused them. Every person, even if you were a salesman or a farmer, started to have weapons by their side just in case I happened to walk into town, and everybody started to become more suspicious of any travellers because they knew the Hero of Hyrule was one. Whether you were a little kid or an old man just passing through, as soon as people saw that you had brown hair and green eyes, then you immediately became a target. They’ll stab you to death, drown you, burn you alive - whatever they needed to do to get rid of the Hero of Hyrule, just so they could make sure that Ganon never comes back. It’s been like that ever since.”

It was a terrible story, the other heroes had silently agreed - like a morbid fairytale gone wrong. It was ironic: the very people Hyrule was chosen to protect were now actively out to get him just for the sake of quelling their own fears.

“...So you’re just letting this happen?” 

Eight startled faces all turned to the group’s ranchhand, who looked to the traveller with a deep frown and crossed arms. His lip curled upwards as he snarled out, “ You’re just letting innocent people die because you’re too much of a coward to go and save them?”

Twilight wasn’t actually sure what compelled him to say something like that. Maybe it was because the thought of innocent people dying struck a very strong chord in him, or maybe it was because the people dying were those as young as Talo and Malo and Colin, or as old as Rusl and Mayor Bo; maybe it was a combination of both, and just the knowledge that Hyrule was refusing to do anything about the situation made his blood boil. 

The resident hero looked to the other with a mixture of confusion and hurt, but an underlying wave of anger made his tone a little more clipped than he wanted it to be. “ I know I’m a coward, but I’m not just letting them die because I want them to. The people here are aggressive: once they think you’re the Hero of Hyrule, there’s no way you can back yourself out of that situation. Having someone to come and rescue you will only make things worse, and there’s a pretty good chance that you’d be the next one to die.”

“Well if you know all of that, then why aren’t you doing anything to stop all of that from happening? We saw you change your appearance, and you gave us all cloaks to - what? Be less suspicious? - so why aren’t you doing any of that for the people passing through town? You could’ve saved  _ hundreds  _ of lives here, Hyrule, but you’re just staying quiet and watching people die in front of you.”

“I’m not!” Hyrule answered back sharply. His nails dug painfully into his palms. “ I always try to help them when I can, but I can’t be in a hundred places at once. It’s not just Nabooru Town who’s doing this, but literally every other town in this kingdom. People will be dying whether I’m there or not, and there’s no way I can rescue everyone who’s been accused of being me  _ and  _ protect Zelda and the castle.”

“Then think of some other solution!” Twilight threw his hands up, letting all of his pent up rage and disgust finally get the better of him. “ Have your Hyrule Castle give them a safe place to live or create some group to find the people that want you dead and put them in prison! I don’t know, kill them if you have to! Those villagers there are no better than monsters, so there’s nothing left to salvage.”

The Ordonian said that last bit with complete and utter conviction as his subconscious flashed him that same memory of that boy burning to death, and the villagers around him smiling and cheering as they watched the scene with absolute glee. They really were no better than monsters at this point, were they? Cold, cruel, heartless monsters.

“They’re not monsters.” The traveller replied just as firm. “ They’re only the way they are because they’re  _ scared _ . They know the Hero of Hyrule is still out there - that  _ I’m  _ still out there - and they know that one little slip up could cost them and their entire family their lives, so if they have the chance to control that, then they’ll try everything in their damn power to do so, even if it means killing innocent people. It’s not their fault that they think like that; it’s because they’re all - because Ganon’s - I’m just -.” 

“It’s because of mass hysteria.” Warriors interjected, and when the group’s collective attention was brought to him, he hardened his features and explained. “ Consider this: the people of this kingdom know that Ganon could be revived at any second as long as his followers had Hyrule in their possession. If you were a simple villager who hasn’t seen your Hero for weeks on end, wouldn’t you start to panic and fear for the worst? Like the traveller said, a single drop of blood on Ganon’s ashes would be enough to bring him back to life, and even more would bring him back to full power, so I understand the people’s worry for having Hyrule wander alone in a territory riddled with monsters. One wrong move, and their entire livelihoods would disappear, and they most likely won’t have a hero to protect them if Ganon does go too far.”

Hyrule nodded with a grim look on his face, and then redirected his attention to the ranchhand. “ They’re not monsters, Twilight,” He repeated, his voice softer and more controlled than before. “ They’re scared. They’re scared because they don’t have any control over anything, so they do whatever they can to make them feel in - control, even if it’s something as horrible as killing their friends. I know I’m causing this, and I know I’m not doing anything to stop this, but the sooner I get to Ganon and defeat him once and for all, the sooner things can get back to normal.”

It was strange to hear one of their own so conscious and accepting of the horrors around them. Twilight knew that Time and Wild both have regrets about the past and refuse to accept it, and he was sure that Legend and Warriors were both hiding something as well based on all those times they woke up screaming in the middle of the night, but to hear Hyrule, a meek and timid teen that rarely spoke at all, so readily admit that his land was nearly beyond saving and that it was all his fault, was something breathtaking in and of itself. The traveller  _ knew  _ that monsters and his own people were constantly after him, and he  _ knew  _ that if he let himself relax for just a second, the chances of him getting captured and killed would skyrocket to an unbelievable level, but despite all odds, he still chose to defend a kingdom that didn’t even show him an ounce of gratitude. To press forward when the whole world is against you takes a great deal of dedication, and perhaps Hyrule was more of a selfless hero than he made himself out to be.

The Ordonian let his shoulders sag with defeat. “ You’re right: I don’t know anything about what you’re going through, and it was wrong of me to be angry at you.”

Hyrule’s features softened, and any indication of outrage melted into quiet understanding. “ It’s okay, I know you didn’t mean any of it; you were just upset at what you saw and I don’t blame you, but there’s more to the story than whatever you see on your first night in one of the towns here.” He met the ranchhand’s eyes and tried for a tiny smile. “ Things will get better - I know they will - but until then, I have to do what I need to.”

The group had decided to set up camp for the night, all of them silently agreeing that a spot among the trees and dirt was the only safe place left in Hyrule’s era. Most of the heroes turned in for the night without a word, and barely any of them had the courage to look at the dancing flames of the small campfire they had started. It was ironic: how could a thing that brought the group warmth and light and a place to sit and chatter every night kill an innocent person without hesitation? Would it bring them that same sense of comfort ever again, or would they constantly relive that memory of their night in Nabooru Town, watching an innocent child burn to death at the hands of those he considered family? 

In the end, it was just Time and Hyrule left at their makeshift campfire, both of them silent as they were lost in their own thoughts; that is, until a success of long howls filled the night air.

The traveller tensed, breath catching in his throat for a second, before realisation dawned on him. “ That’s Wolfie, right?” He questioned, and when he received a nod of confirmation from the other, he knitted his brows in worry. “ But he sounds … really sad tonight ...”

“I think he’s crying.”

Hyrule turned to the elder hero with genuine confusion. “‘Crying’? Why would he be crying?”

Time stared absently at the bright orange flames in front of him. “ I think he’s crying for all those who’ve lost their souls to such a cruel fate.”


	10. Dark

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a short side note: I'm a bit on the shy side, but I just wanted to thank everyone for the comments, kudos, and bookmarks, and just for reading the stories in general! I appreciate each and every one of you, and I wish you all a very happy New Year!
> 
> Summary: There are circumstances that may lead one to take certain risks, and sometimes those risks lead to disaster.
> 
> Warnings: (Temporary) major character death, mentions of violence, mentions of alcohol, and swearing

Wherever Time was, it was dark. There was not a single ounce of light here, and no matter where he looked or where he took a step forward, he was always met with pitch black. The darkness was suffocating, and he could feel his breath start to pick up once his hazy mind realised that there was no exit, that there was nothing to see, that there was no one else here to help him, and soon the whole room was starting to feel like it was closing in on him even though there were no walls and he suddenly couldn’t tell left from right or up from down or whether he was sitting or standing or lying down - it was all just dark, and it was slowly eating away at his sanity.

“You … out … right now …”

His breath caught in his throat. That fiery tone, that sweet, beautiful voice … that was … Malon, right?

Yes, of course. How could he forget the love of his life? The one he decided to settle down with on a small, peaceful ranch in the middle of Hyrule Field? The one who sang along with him whenever he played his ocarina and the one who watched beautiful sunsets with him as the last minutes of the day started to fade away? She was a constant soothing presence in his life, and he would never forgive himself if he ever forgot about Malon.

He stood still, hoping that in some way, listening to his wife’s voice could somehow lead him out of the darkness. It was strange that Malon’s voice was echoing from everywhere and nowhere at the same time, and whatever she was saying was so choppy and fragmented that Time could barely make out the syllables of each word, but her voice was like a lifeline to him, and he was willing to try and latch onto it no matter how distant it was.

“What makes you believe that I should? I have not finished killing all the enemies here, nor have I finished correcting the mistakes in this timeline.”

This voice was deeper, colder, and more unforgiving than Malon’s, and each word rang out unnervingly clear in Time’s mind. The being’s tone was indifferent towards the words it was saying, as if the very notion of killing monsters and fixing mistakes in a timeline was just another mundane task that anyone could do. Time would’ve chuckled if the situation wasn’t all so disorientating. As if fixing something so complicated as a timeline was simple, he should know; he’s been struggling with trying to correct his mistakes for  _ years  _ now, and all his attempts have either led to the eventual destruction of Hyrule or to the creation of more timelines, which would only make his hair turn greyer from the added stress. Honestly, at this point, he was sure that only Hylia herself or some other god could fix this.

Wait. Another god. 

_ Another god _ .

His heart was suddenly racing, the thumping in his chest and the rush of blood in his ears getting overwhelmingly loud. Had he really put on the Fierce Deity mask and become that soulless, heartless god? What were even the circumstances that led him to do that? He swore that he would only use that thing if the situation at hand was nearly hopeless - if his or his loved ones’ lives were practically hanging by a thin thread - but surely it hadn’t come to that, had it?

Now that he thought about it, he couldn’t really remember what  _ had  _ happened. The latest memory he had at the moment was having to buy a new shield for Wild because he broke it while shield - surfing, but that was nearly a day ago - or was it just a few hours ago? Or a couple of minutes ago? Or maybe weeks ago? For someone renowned as the ‘Hero of Time’, his namesake was definitely failing him.

How long had it been since he had given the Fierce Deity control over his body? How long had it been since he last saw light? How long had it been since he’d last seen Malon, or any of the other heroes for that matter? Where were the other heroes? Where was  _ he _ ? 

“He … kill me … let … go.”

He lifted his head up at a dizzying speed and his eye widened with fear. No, what was Malon talking about? Why was she suddenly talking about ‘killing’ of all things? She knew so much about the Fierce Deity mask and its bloodlust so  _ why in the world was she tempting that thing _ ?

He sucked in a sharp breath. 

He needs out. He needs out  _ right now _ .

“Let me out!” Time yelled out to no one, but even if it seemed as such, he knew that the deity could hear him. “ Let me out right now!”

“Link … enough … let … go.”

“I know you can hear me! Let me out right now!”

“... Dead … stop … enough.”

“I will burn you to ashes if you lay a single finger on Malon! You hear me?! I’ll kill you!”

Together, he and Malon pleaded from two different sides, the latter’s coming out in careful demands and the former’s coming out in harsh screams. It was impossible to know what was going on outside, and it made Time feel all the more fearful because he didn’t know if he was off simply killing a few Moblins and Lizalfos, or was about to stab a sword through his wife’s chest. He  _ needs  _ to know what was going on. He needs  _ out _ .

After what felt like an eternity, he felt the floor tilt from beneath him when the Fierce Deity finally nodded and said, “ Very well.” Time’s world was suddenly flooded with light.

His body was already pitching forward before his mind could even register it, and the feel of strong arms coming to wrap around his chest was barely felt through the numbness in his body. His head lolled wearily onto the person’s shoulder, and he didn’t even bother to move the locks of hair that pressed haphazardly against his face. His whole being was sagging with both fatigue and relief, and when he was finally able to make out the white dress underneath his chin and the sight of ginger locks, he used all his remaining strength to lock Malon into a tight hug.

“Link!” She shouted in surprise, but he only squeezed harder, refusing to let her go as if she would disappear without his hold. He buried his head further into her neck and breathed in the familiar scent of hay and home - cooked meals, slowly easing his shoulders when his mind finally registered that he was free from the deity’s hold, he was able to use his own body again, and that he was back home, safe and sound. He pulled away for a second, ready to scold his wife for even  _ attempting  _ to do something so reckless as standing up to a god, but froze when he saw the state of Hyrule Field.

The field - his home - was littered with bodies: those of monsters, humans, and Hylians all strewn about like tossed ragdolls. Blood coated the ground in dark, messy paint splatters on a grassy canvas, and the weapons and armor of the multitude of soldiers that came here were all broken into pieces, destroyed with clean and powerful slices. The whole place reeked of death, and it was nothing like the beautiful plains he was used to seeing.

What had the Fierce Deity done?

He didn’t even realise he was staggering until he felt his wife’s arms around him again.

“Link!” A frantic voice called out, and Time was barely able to recognize it as Malon’s. “ It’s going to be alright!”

He would’ve laughed if his throat wasn’t so tight. ‘Alright’? ‘ _ Alright _ ’? There was nothing that could be ‘alright’ about this situation; the Fierce Deity had killed innocent people -  _ he  _ had killed innocent people - and there was no magical way to grab all their souls and force them back into their respective bodies. They were dead, plain and simple.

His wife was leading him towards their home with one of his arms wrapped firmly across her shoulders and another arm delicately pressing his side to hers. Time could barely keep his heavy steps in time with Malon’s strides, and the right side of his face burned hotter than the flames on Volvagia’s back, but he tried to focus all of his attention on the determination etched onto Malon’s face, hoping vainly that he could draw some sort of hope from that.

His wife was settling him on their shared bed before he was even able to register it, and the soft plush of quilts and blankets did nothing to quell the massive pit in his stomach. Neither the sting of alcohol on his skin as his wounds were cleaned nor Malon’s gentle reassurances did nothing to bring him out of his shock; his mind was still lost in Hyrule Field, looking upon the corpses that littered the green like blooming weeds.

He wondered how long he had been gone for. Minutes? Hours? It could’ve very well been days if he was being completely honest. From the time he put on the mask to the time the Fierce Deity took it off, the Hero of Time was stuck in a dark limbo, where neither his senses nor time itself existed. He surmised that the only reason he was even able to rouse was because of Malon’s voice piercing through the darkness like an arrow to the heart, and he used that opportunity to frantically regain control of his body; otherwise, if he just let that chance flitter away, then he was sure the deity would just kill her along with everyone else.

He startled when a light touch settled on his shoulder, and his eye fell onto an anxious redhead.

“Malon?” His voice trembled like that of a fearful child, and the ranchhand smiled sadly at him.

“That’s right, Fairy Boy. I just wanted to let you know that I’m going to the market to fetch some more supplies. I’ll be back in ten minutes, so don’t even think about moving, alright?”

With a tight nod, he watched her move towards the door leading to the hallway, but after a sudden thought came to mind, he quickly blurted out, “ The boys?”

He held his breath as his wife paused in the doorway, and he felt each second tick by excruciatingly slow. Finally, after what felt like years of waiting, she finally turned back and quietly said, “ It’ll be alright.”

The Hero of Time’s stomach dropped. The forced smile on his wife’s lips, the way she dug her nails into the wooden doorframe, the reassuring words she uttered trying to get him to relax even though his subconscious was telling him that he shouldn’t get such a luxury - he should’ve known that something was wrong. Something worse had happened while the Fierce Deity had possessed him, and the little child within him was too scared to find out.

The time between Malon coming home and tending to his remaining injuries was an absolute blur. He remembered her walking back into the room with a myriad of potions and bandages in her arms, and the idle small talk she tried to make as she immediately got back to work. Her voice was soothing, and Time did his best to listen to what she was saying but his mind refused to budge from the topic of the Fierce Deity and death, even long after his wife had left. He was just … numb; his body, his senses, his emotions, were all just numb, all because of a memory he could not remember.

A few harsh knocks pulled Time out of his thoughts, and the visitor didn’t even bother to wait for an invitation. Warriors came barging into the room within seconds, with Wild slowly trailing in behind him, his face well - hidden beneath his signature cloak. They stood together at one side of the bedroom, and the Hero of Time couldn’t even muster the courage to look either of them in the eye.

“What did you do?”

Every bit of Warriors’s words were filled with unadulterated rage, even if they were just barely above a whisper. As the seconds ticked by without an answer, he yelled out louder, “ Tell me, Time, what the fuck did you do?!”

The Hero of Time flinched at the words, and could only muster out a small, “ U - Um -.”

“Can you even  _ begin _ to understand the gravity of your actions?!” And the Hero of Warriors didn’t even concern himself with formalities anymore. “ You killed  _ hundreds  _ of innocent people just for your own sick enjoyment! They were here to help us - sent graciously by the queen  _ herself _ \- and you just slaughtered them as if they were nothing more than pigs and cattle! And the way you killed Legend and Sky … exactly how long were you waiting to do that?”

_ No _ \- Time’s breath caught in his throat -  _ no, no, Hylia, he didn’t - _ .

“Are you happy that two of Hylia’s Chosen Heroes are gone now, with two others well on their way? I’m sure Hyrule loves being in a coma, and Twilight is just absolutely  _ thrilled  _ about bleeding to death!”

Time didn’t miss the way Wild stiffened at the mention of his mentor, nor the shuddering breath he took.

Warriors took a step forward as to shield the champion from Time’s gaze and growled out, “ Those four trusted you - we all trusted you - and you stabbed us in the back like the fucking traitor that you are.”

The Hero of Time flinched at the words. Traitors were the thing that their captain hated the most, and when he said that someone was a traitor, he wholeheartedly meant it. 

His fingers twisted harder into the sheets underneath him. As pathetic as it was, he was scared. He was too terrified to ask the dreaded question of how he killed Legend and Sky, too terrified to see how bad off Twilight and Hyrule were, and too terrified to explain that he was under the control of a deity whose powers he couldn’t even begin to comprehend. He betrayed those young heroes who he had considered him as a leader and family, and he had undoubtedly shattered any chance of regaining their trust; all he could do now is wither under the captain’s denouncement and apologize for something that couldn’t be forgiven.

It was Warriors who finally broke the tense silence by sharply turning on his heel and leading the Hero of Wilds and himself out. “ You’re a filthy disgrace to the Kingdom of Hyrule,” He spat out. “ And if I find you anywhere near me or any of the other heroes, I’ll kill you.”

The slam of a door marked their exit, and the Hero of Time was left alone again. 

The room was filled with a warm glow from the fading sunset, and all the small picture frames and knickknacks scattered about the place were highlighted in a beautiful orange - red. He would usually appreciate the breathtaking scene, happy that his cruel and demanding adventures had led him to living on a peaceful farm with his loving wife, but he couldn’t this time, not with the knowledge that this field was stained with the blood of innocent soldiers and heroes long before and after him.

He messed up - he  _ fucked up _ \- and he didn’t even bother to hide the small tears that dribbled down his face and onto the beautifully - quilted fabric. He worked so hard to keep the Kingdom of Hyrule at peace, and did his best to help those in need regardless of how demanding they were, but no amount of good deeds could ever bring back any of the people he mercilessly slaughtered. Who would he even blame for his actions? Hylia? The Fierce Deity? They were both deities that obviously didn’t care what a Hylian said about them; they would just go on with their respective existences, not even batting an eye at the millions they had killed for the sake of getting what they wanted.

But Time wasn’t like that: he was a person with feelings, limits, traumas, and regrets, and no matter how immune he thought he was to the problems of this world, he would always come tumbling back down from his high horse as soon as he couldn’t take being the Hero of Time anymore. He had become arrogant, the years of saving people and being a beacon of hope finally getting to his head and allowing him to take the risk of letting the Fierce Deity have control over him, thinking that in some way, somehow, he could finally regain some resemblance of control and transform back into his usual self. He was beyond stupid to think that such a simple Hylian like him could take on an otherworldly god, and he was beyond stupid to think that his plan, no matter how well thought - out, could outsmart anyone that had existed for millennia. What a terrible decision that was, allowing something as powerful as a deity to keep him in the dark while it went on doing whatever it pleased. If only he could turn back time and - .

He stilled for a second before his head shot up in an instant. He was stumbling to his feet before he even knew it, and was eagerly making his way over to wear his item pouch resided on the dresser. His hand dug greedily into the bag like a hungry wolf, and he didn’t stop until his fingers brushed against a familiar ceramic. The item came out with little resistance, and he couldn’t help but stare as the sun’s rays bounced off his ocarina’s blue shell. 

He could do it: he could turn back time and prevent any of this from ever happening. The instrument was at his lips within milliseconds, his breath already ready to blow out the familiar tune, when a sudden thought came to mind:

What would happen to this timeline? Time knew for a fact that timelines don’t just disappear, if Legend’s and Hyrule’s, Wild’s and Twilight’s, and Wind’s eras were anything to go by, so what exactly would the Malon here be left with? Would the Link she knew just cease to exist? Or would a carbon copy of himself still exist with memories only the past him would know? And what about the other heroes? Would they go on in their travels with only four heroes instead of nine, significantly reducing their manpower and chances of success? And what if they failed to take care of the overarching threat? He could be leaving behind millions of distraught people to a dismal fate with no Hero of Time to blame.

But he couldn’t remain here; not when Sky, Legend, Twilight, and Hyrule were so close to an untimely death, if not already dead. So he would go back in time, prevent the Fierce Deity from ever having any control over him, and make sure that no one died at his hand.

With his mind made up, he blew into the Ocarina of Time, and watched as the seconds ticked backwards.

Time jolted as he was thrown back into time, and anxiously looked at his surroundings: it looked like he was outside a small tavern … yes, the one he and the Links had stumbled upon two days and 16 hours ago, and judging by the moon’s high position in the sky, it appears that this is the time they were about to leave. As if on cue, an irritated Legend groaned out,

“Ugh, does he always do this? I swear, Cityboy is going to drink himself into a coma one day.”

Warriors, the person in question, directed a dramatic pointed look towards the former and slurred out, “ Hey, I’ll go into a coma whenever I want to, thank you very much.”

A cheery Sky readjusted his grip on the captain’s arm and nervously laughed, “ It’s okay; I’m sure he’s a responsible drinker and knows when he’s reached his limit.” But then added in a smaller voice, “ But I don’t think drinking this much in one sitting is a good idea.”

“No, it’s fine! I’ve seen Wars drink a  _ lot  _ more than he did tonight! And the stuff they had here wasn’t even that strong anyways.” Wind chimed in, and Four from beside him could only stare in exasperation at the unlabeled bottle hidden behind the sailor’s back.

Wild jogged to the group seconds after and asked, “ Hey, are we gonna get going soon? Because Twi is rounding up all the dogs here again, and we don’t want another incident like last time.” And as if to emphasize his point, he jabbed his thumb towards the direction where his mentor was busy playing with a large number of said canines.

Hyrule regarded his travelling companion with an empathetic smile as he answered back with, “ Yeah, I think we were about to leave, right Time?” And when he looked to the group’s leader, he asked in a more concerned tone, “ … Time?”

The Hero of Time didn’t even realize he was staring at each one of them until a majority of them were staring back at him, each regarding him with a curious gaze. He quickly shook his thoughts away and said, “ Yes, we should get going before morning comes.”

So the group began to trek forward towards the inn they would eventually settle into approximately an hour later, all the while bustling about each other’s actions. Time smiled warmly at the group’s antics, but quickly set his jaw in a show of determination. He had another chance to set things right, and goddesses - be - damned if he let this opportunity just slip away.

He won’t let anyone die this time. 


End file.
